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MADISON, 

DANE COUNTY 



AND 



SURROUNDING TOWNS; 

BEINO A 

HISTORY AND GUIDE 

TO PLACES OP SCENIC BEAUTY AND HISTORICAL NOTE FOUND IN THE TOWN3 

OF DANE COUNTY AND SURROUNDINGS, INCLUDING THE ORGANIZATION 

OF THE TOWNS, AND EARLY INTERCOURSE OF THE SET'j LERS 

WITH THE INDIANS, THEIR CAMPS, TRAILS, MOUNDS, ETC. 

WITH A COMPLETE LIST OF 

COUNTY SUPERVISORS AND OFFICERS, 

AND 
LEGISLATIVE MEMBERS, MADISON VILLAGE AND CITV COUNCIL. 



ILLUSTRATED. 



v 



MADISON, WIS.: 

PUBLISHED BY WM. J. PARK & CO., 

BOOKSELLERS, STATIONERS AND BINDERS, 
11 KING STREET. 

1877. 



0^ 



ooPTRiaai, 
WM. J. PAKK % CO. 

1677. 



DAVID ATWOOD, STEREOTYPES AND miNTEE, 
MADISON. WIS. 



PREFACE. 



In presenting to our readers the History of Madison, Dane Coun- 
ty and Surrounding' Towns, we do it with some degree of gratifi- 
cation; — not because we have the presumption to conceive that 
we have issued a complete work, or that it is free from errors; but 
simply because we have had so many kind helps rendered us in 
bringing the work up to its present condition, and without flat- 
tering ourselves that we have composed some grand strain, or even 
been in full harmony with all our parts, we have, at least, struck 
the key-note from which we have built up good, if not square work. 

To show that our work was needed, it is only necessary for us to 
call the reader's attention to the many chapters so freely contributed 
by many of our citizens, who, making no pretensions to any great 
literary acumen, have related the facts and incidents of their towns 
in terms sometimes vmfinished, but never lacking power and sim- 
plicity to express what they knew, thus commending to our admir- 
ation the free and unvarnished manner with which the story of 
pioneer life, trials and sufferings is related, and the evident delight 
taken in looking back on those difficulties, to enact them over again. 

We think our work has been instrumental in saving from oblivi- 
on much that would have passed unheeded hi the annals of the 
early settlement and development of our county. Our citizens, in 
their early pioneer life, forgetting that they were makers of history, 
saved comparatively little of the past dates or records. 

History by towns has not, we believe, been published in this 
state before, and we feel certain that no surer way could be de- 
vised for reaching facts than the plan we have adopted, as there are 
none better able to write a family history than one of its members. 
To the writers of the ensuing chapters we suggested the following 
subjects, which our readers will see have been conscientiously ad- 
hered to: The early settlement and organization of each town; 
pioneer trials and difficulties ; scenic beauty and hygiene ; industri- 
al pursuits and markets; schools and churches; early intercourse 
with the Indians; camps, trails, graves or mounds, etc. 

The work has exceeded, by several hundred pages, our agree- 
ment with subscribers, but having been assured of remuneration 
therefor by an increase of names on our subscription list, we have 
decided to make no advance hi price. 

The adjacent towns have been added to our book at the suggestion 
of citizens of those places, and it is proper that they should be, as 
socially and commercially there are no boundary hues between us; 
and with all the cordiality of neighbors, it affords us pleasure to 
invite the attention of the reader to these chapters not only as a 



6 PEEFACE. 

partial exhibit of their in lustrial pursuits and business tact, but 
also as evidence that we are linked together by a stronger tie than 
sectional lines. 

The chapter on Lake Koshkonong is from the pen of Prof. Kuui- 
lien, a scientist of no mean mark either in this country or Europe. 
Although he has devoted a life time to the study of natural history, 
and his labors been heralded abroad, there are but few of our citizens 
that even know that this se^r is living at our very doors. Forty 
long years has he quietly and unobtrusively spent in studying the 
botanical life of many of our plants, as well a3 giving us a clearer 
insight into the ornithology of this continent, and we feel our duty 
but begun in our meager effort to make these facts known. 

The "Historical Introduction" will be found full of interesting 
dates and facts, as also the chapter on "Personal Recollections," 
whde the list of County Officers, obtained at considerable labor, and 
the only list published, will be used as a useful reference. 

Our county is the largest in population and wealth of any other 
in our state, except Milwaukee, and is largely on the increase. The 
healthful character of our climate, together with our rich and varied 
displays of scenic beauty beheld every where around us, is bringing 
hundreds to our doors who are not only invigorated by our pure 
and bracing atmosphere, but enchanted with the landscape grand- 
eur that foreign lands but tamely mimic. Historical places point 
to ages as yet comparatively unknown, and if a people, whom we 
designate as Mound Builders, lived here, it is but right to infer that 
they were neither ignorant of our climate or our scenery, but as is 
shown, left larger evidences of their labors here than in any other 
section of this country. 

We have been much gratified at the cordiality with which our 
citizens have entered into the enterprise, and take this opportunity 
of offering them our grateful acknowledgments, and especially to 
the writers of the different chapters, for their kind and unselfish 
interest in collecting the many facts and pleasing incidents there- 
in related. Such men are, as a rule, the bone and sinew of a com- 
munity, and never weary in well doing. We are also indebted to 
the following gentlemen, who have made it a matter of interest 
and labor to aid us in our undertaking: Hon. Simeon Mills, Wm. 

A. Wheeler, E. M. Williamson, E. Burdick, Geo. B. Smith, Wm. 
Vroman, N. T. Parkinson, Wm. Welch, S. W. Botkin, Hon. Ly- 
man C. Draper, Prof. S. H. Carpenter, Prof. R. B. Anderson, D. S. 
Durrie(who aided us materially, by the use of several of his MSS.), 
Phillip Barry, (for the use of county records,) Gabriel Bjornson, P. 

B. Parsons, 0. S. Holum, Hon. J. A. Johnson, Gen. S. Cadwalla- 
der, Judge N. F. Hyer, Judge J. T. Clark, Capt. John Nader, Jas. 
R. Stuart, (for draught of design on back of the volume), N. P. 
Jones, (for photographs to the engraver), N. T. Hawes, John Cors- 
cot (for city records), and others. W. J. P. 



CONTENTS. 



CITY OF MADISON. 

Chapter. Page. Cliipter Page. 

I — In the beginning, . . 9 VII — Newspaper Histoiy, l'»9 

II— Locating Lhe Capital, 20 VIII— Merchants £ Bankers,124 

III— Pioneers, .... 40 I X — Schools, Literature,etc. 146 



IV— State University, . . 67 
V — Historical Society . S3 



XI — Madison Homes, . . 167 
XII — Visitors and Resorts . 176 



VI — Churches and Pastors, 95 XIII — Mounds and Relics, . 184 

DANE COUNTY TOWNS. 
Historical Introduction: — Characteristics of the county 

— Naming of the Lakes — County before its settlement — Streams — 
Population — Chinches— Schools— Property value — .Railroads, . . 203 

Dates and Facts: — First justice, election and judges; first 
books and stationery, juries, indictment, chancery suit, wolf bounty, 
licenses and treasurer; first jail, circus, metal casting and post 
office box ; first woolen mill, blacksmith and auctioneer — Naming 
of Aztalan— Early assessment of lauds and tax — Completion of pub- 
lic buildings — Mineral waters, etc , 210 

Albion — Prof A. R. Cornwall, , 283 

Berry — Hon. Otto Kerl and Wm. S. Crowther, Esq., . 266 

Black Earth — Clarence Burnett and A. J. Fullerton, . 519 

Blooming Grove — James Kavanaugh, Esq., . * . . 532 

Blue Mounds — John C. Ward and Ira Isham, Esqrs., . 236 

Bristol — J. R. Davis, Esq., . . ... 380 

Burke — John Douglas, Esq., ...... 393 

Cambridge — Hon. Geo. Dow and A. B. Carpenter, Esq., . 366 

Christiana— Chas. N. Brown and others, . . . 351 

Cottage Grove— James Bell, Esq., .... 276 

Cross Plains — Henry Winkle, Esq 440 

Dane — Hon. Robert Steele and Mansfield Ames, . . 463 

Deerfield— Hon. K. 0. Heimclal, 432 

Dunn— William E. Colladay, Esq, 488 

Dunkirk — Prof. Geo. W. Currier, 347 

Fitchburg — Dr. Wm. H. Fox and Wm. Vroman, Esq., 448 

Madison— Hon. H. A. Tenney, 539 

Mazomanie — Henry Howarth and Henry Z. Moulton, Esqrs. , 592 

Medina — Frank L. Morrill, Esq., 217 

Middleton — A. B. Parmenter, Esq., .... 589 

Montrose— H. E. Story, Esq., Paoli— H. S. Utley, Esq., 474 

Mount Vernon — Dr. W. J. Donald, .... 312 



8 



CONTEXTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Oregon— Dr. I. Howe and T. E. Thompson, . . . 505 

Perry— Gabriel Bjornson, 291 

Pleasant Springs — Prof. A. R. Ames, .... 371 

PRiMROSE-Hon. G. Tollefson, 526 

Roxbury — Hon. John T. Clark, 495 

Rutland— Hon. S. W. Graves, 387 

Springdale — James P. McPherson, Esq., .... 306 

Springfield — E. Harding. Esq., 328 

Stougiiton — Prof. Geo. W. Currier, .... 338 

Sun Prairie— Dr. C. G. Cross 313 

Vermont — ......... 588 

Verona — Donald McDonald and J. T. Hawes, . . . 571 

Vienna — Hon. A. A. Boyce, 563 

"West Blue Mounds — Dr. R. W. Jones, .... 244 

Westport and Village of Waunakee — E.L. Noyes, Esq., 298 

Windsor — Sherman Brothers and H. A. Lewis, . . . 249 

York— 570 

TOWNS ADJACENT. 

Brooklyn — J. W. Haseltine, Esq., 632 

Edgerton— E. A. Burdick, Esq., 650 

Evansville, Rock County— D. Johnson, L. Leonard, J. West, 617 

Lake Koshkonong — Prof. T. L. Kumlien, . . . 628 

Lodi— Hon. J. T. Clark, 636 



Personal Recollections, 

County Supervisors and Officers, 

Legislative Members, 

Madison Village and City Council, 



559 

655 
660 

662 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Birdseye View or Madison, - 2 

-Mrs. Eben Peck, £5 

Lake Monona, 31 

King Street. 35 

First House in Madison.. - - 43 

Hon. Simeon Mills, ... - 49 

State University, 75 

Hon. Lyman C. Draper, - - 87 

' Congregational CHURCH, - - 104 

"Hon. David Atwood. 107 

St\te Journal Block. - - - 113 

D. K. Tenney. Esq , - - - - 119 

Wisconsin State Capitol, - 131 

City Hall and U.S. Postoffice 1 II 

Madison City High School, - 151 

Elm Side, Dr. Boweu's residence 169 



Rosebank Cottage, ... - 173 
Yatch on Lake Monona. - - 177 
Angleworm Station, - - - - 181 

Marietta, .- - 185 

Knives, Awls and Bracelets, 189 



Porphyry and Greenstone, 



19(3 



Drinking Cup, 197 



Sepulchral Urns. 

Map of Dane County. 

Old Court House, - - 215 

Indian Camp, x'71 

Albion Academy, - - - - 
Opera House, Stougiiton, 
Stoughton Wason Works, 
Early Agricultural Scene, 
Lake Kegonsa and Steamer, 



IG9 

ill 



311 
345 
359 
377 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



CHAPTER I. 

IN THE BEGINNING. 

Soon after Pere Marquette made his way to the 
Mississippi, from the Lakes, this "Western country 
was overrun by Canadian French voyacjeurs, whose 
country, language and religion, were considerable aids 
to trade among the tribes of Indians, recently gath- 
ered into the fold of the Catholic church. There is 
no positive evidence that they were on this identical 
spot, but a probability, all but overwhelming, suggests 
their presence in the Lake country, because the In- 
dians were here, and, moreover, because the conform- 
ation of the country, the large and beautiful lakes, 
and other well known features, specially adapted this 
particular locality for the supply of peltry. There 
was a mission house at or near Green Bav before 
Marcpiette's world-famous canoe voyage by the Fox 
and Wisconsin rivers; but there is no mention by 
which our topography is identified until more than a 
century later, in the records of Capt. Carver, as pub- 
lished after 1768. His " Travels through the interior 



10 HISTOKT OF MADISON. 

parts of North America " make unmistakable refer- 
ences to the Blue Mounds, which he knew, probably 
from the Indians, were supposed to be rich in lead. 
The captain shrewdly suspected the trappers of hav- 
ing purposely misrepresented the territory for their 
better security as to ulterior designs of their own. 
The Jesuit maps of the Lake Superior country, pre- 
pared a century earlier in Paris, were very good, con- 
sidering the limited facilities of the priests by whom 
the information was supplied, but the operations of 
the Canadian voyageurs, jealously defending their 
trading privileges after their old home had passed 
under the rule of strangers, would be subject to very 
different rules. 

The Sacs and Foxes held this territory from time 
immemorial, so far as we have any positive knowl- 
edge, until the year 1825, when the Nations sold their 
rights to all lands east of the Mississippi. Unfortu- 
nately, for the red men, they were persuaded by 
some of their leaders to play fast and loose with their 
treaty, and after the first removal, there were almost 
continuous returns, and on many occasions marauding 
parties inflicted damage on property and life by way 
of asserting a right to their old hunting grounds. 
In the year 1831 things had become unendurable, and 
it was found necessary to drive the Indians back 
across the newly agreed upon barrier, the Mississippi. 
The "Winnebago outbreak and the Black Hawk war, 
the first named in 1831-2, and the latter concurrent 
with or immediately following, were parts of the same 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 



11 



scheme of aggression, intended to recover for the 
tribes the lands already sold and delivered by their 
chiefs and themselves. Eventually the Indians were 
repressed and forced back with a firm hand. 

The first attempt at settlement in this county was 
made in 1827-8, by Col. Ebenezer Brigham, who died 
in this city at the advanced age of seventy-two, in the 
year 1861. He visited Wisconsin in 1822, but it was 
not until five years later that he came hither to make a 
permanent abode. The lead mines were the chief at- 
traction, but after a brief sojourn at Platte river, on 
what is known as the Block House branch, he and his 
party retired to Galena, not being strong enough to 
hold their own in a country possessed by hostile In- 
dians. Early in 1828, Col. Brigham and his asso- 
ciates took up a position in the Blue Mounds, still 
mining for lead. Food supplies, at first procured 
from Galena, were afterwards obtained from Fort 
Winnebago, and it was while returning from Fort 
Winnebago that the beauties of the Lake country 
were first discovered by Col. Brigham. The Indians 
had told him about the lakes, but the beautiful real- 
ity vastly exceeded their description. The pioneer is 
not always capable of appreciating the picturesque, 
but the colonel predicted the greatness of the village 
that would be built where Madison now stands, being 
impressed by the charms of the scene, and he even 
assumed that the capital of the Territory and State 
would be here located. 

The first comers to this county were widely severed 



12 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

from their nearest friends. Dodgeville was the resi- 
dence of their next door neighbor, and to the south- 
east they could call upon somewhat distant acquaint- 
ances on the O'Plaine river, hardly twelve miles from 
Chicago. Col. Juneau was located near the junction 
of the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers, laying the 
foundations of the beautiful Cream City, which is 
now the commercial metropolis of Wisconsin. It 
will be seen at once that every settlement in those 
days had to rely mainly upon its own means of de- 
fense against the Indians, who were established in 
populous villages in every direction. As a rule there 
was a good understanding, and from time to time 
treaties were made defining the boundaries of the 
new comers, but the stipulations of the natives were 
extended and broken repeatedly. So slowly did the 
people migrate hitherwards, that Col. Brigham was 
still the nearest settler when the capital was located, 
and his residence was distant twenty -five miles. 
Gov. Lewis Cass, the chief executive of Michigan 
Territory, had jurisdiction from the earliest set- 
tlement, and he made Col. Brigham the first justice 
ever appointed here, but his office was almost a sine- 
cure during the four years that he retained the honor. 
The difficulties under which these hardy miners 
opened up their lucrative calling cannot readily be 
made to appear to the modern reader. The traveler 
of to-day is transported in a few hours from Madison to 
Chicago, can dispatch the business of the clay in the 
metropolis of the northwest and return, without a 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 1 



a 



sense of fatigue or a stain of travel, to his home at 
night, but there was no such luxury possible to the 
adventurous colonel and his companions who sent 
their product to Green Bay, Galena or Chicago, and 
who had not a wagon track to guide them toward the 
village which has now expanded to the colossal pro- 
portions of Chicago. That mighty Babylon was then 
an insignificant village, in which there seemed to be 
no probability that the people would master the diffi- 
culties incident to the position and render it habita- 
ble in the better sense. The old colonel was natu- 
rally and fitly included in the earliest attempts to or- 
ganize a government in this territory, when the sev- 
erance from Michigan was effected in 1836, and for 
very many years he was identified with the succeed- 
ing forms of administration. 

A trip from Green Bay to Prairie du Chien, on 
horseback, was undertaken for the first time in May, 
1829, by Judge Doty, afterwards Governor, and two 
attorneys of the first named settlement, Henry S. 
Baird and Morgan L. Martin, guided by a Menomo- 
nee Indian whose acquaintance with the country was 
by no means perfect; but their seven days pilgrimage 
made them conversant with the topographical features 
of Lake Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, our 
own Four Lakes, the site of our city, the Blue Mounds 
and Dodgeville, besides the vast range of country in- 
cluded in their interesting detour. There had been 
many transits by the Fox and Wisconsin to the Miss- 
issippi, since the days of Pere Marquette and his voy- 



14 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

ageurs, but this, so far as can be known, was the first 
journey made by white men overland. Three years 
later Judge Doty again visited this spot, having been 
much impressed by its beauty, and being desirous to 
see a town started in the midst of so much natural 
grandeur. 

The ambitious designs of Black Hawk, who had 
obtained an ascendency over the braves of his own 
and of neighboring tribes, led to a disastrous war 
with the Indians in 1832, as already indicated, and 
the settlers of this portion of Wisconsin were not 
backward during that eventful period. There was an 
actual alliance between the deceitful "Winnebagoes 
and the more immediate followers of Black Hawk, 
the Sacs and Foxes, some time before hostilities were 
openly commenced; but the savages were full of pro- 
testations as to their peaceful and friendly disposition. 
Col. Brigham could not be hoodwinked by their flat- 
teries, and he, with the cooperation of his little army 
of industry, built a block house fort, on the prairie, 
near Blue Mounds, as part of their system of defense. 
"When hostile demonstrations were anticipated, the 
whole of the settlers near at hand, with their families, 
congregated within the palisade that surrounded the 
main buildings. The Winnebagoes were still per- 
sistent as to their friendship and alliance, until the 
beginning of June, 1832, although there is good rea- 
son for believing that they were supplying informa- 
tion and help to their more warlike neighbors, long 
before that date. Preparations for war were made, 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 15 

regardless of the Winnebago promises, as it was 
well known that Black Hawk's followers would cause 
trouble without much delay. The commanding officer 
at Mound Fort, Capt. John Sherman, saw the proba- 
bility of war to be so imminent that he communicated 
his apprehensions to Col. Dodge, afterwards governor, 
and the colonel marched to the reinforcement of Sher- 
man with two hundred men, collected from other and 
less exposed positions in the mining districts. Shortly 
after this timely aid arrived, James Aubrey, the first 
commander at the fort, was killed near the residence 
of Col. Brigham, while procuring water from a 
spring. The Sac Indians killed him, being guided to 
their ambush by the treacherous "Wmnebagoes, within 
a few days of the time when they were most lavish 
in expressions of friendship. Their part in the mur- 
der was surmised, but not known, at the time of Au- 
brey's death. A second ambush was planned, and 
succeeded on the 20th of the month, fourteen davs 
after the death of Aubrey. The savages having made 
their dispositions for the purpose, caused some few of 
their body to reveal themselves to the occupants of 
the fort. Lieut. Force, accompanied by a comrade 
named Green, the latter leaving his wife and children 
in the stockade, made a reconnoisance, in the course 
of which they were decoyed by the retiring Indians 
into a trap laid for the destruction of a much larger 
body. Force and Green fought and maneuvered with 
bravery and skill, but they were so completely en- 
meshed that there was no possibility of escape. The 



16 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

savages mutilated their victims in a shameful manner 
after death. The watch worn by Lieut. Force was 
subsequently recovered from the body of a dead In- 
dian, by a trader named Wallis Rowan. The red 
man, overtaken by fatigue, had apparently lain down 
to rest, and in that way was destroyed by a prairie 
fire. The efforts and the deaths of Force and Green 
were seen from Mound Fort. 

Notwithstanding these cruel and purposeless suc- 
cesses, the Indians were pursued by the main body of 
settlers and troops, under the command of Col. Dodge, 
over the Crawfish, near Aztalan, across the site of this 
city, to the north end of Monona, and at Catfish Ford, 
a brisk engagement with the rear guard of the flying 
foe, taught the Indians what they might expect in the 
way of punishment. One Indian was shot sitting 
upon the newly-made grave of his squaw, having 
calmly taken that position apparently with the hope 
that he would thus readily join her in the Happy 
Hunting Grounds. Eventually the Black Hawk war 
was ended by decisive battles, the only kind of argu- 
ment that can be conclusive with savages, and nearly 
the whole of the reel skins that had been in arms were 
killed, captured or dispersed. Black Hawk and his 
accomplice, the Prophet, who had buoyed up the tribes 
with delusive promises, were surrendered to General 
Street, at Prairie du Chien, on the 27th of August, 
1832, by the chiefs of their own people, One-Eyed 
Decorra and Cha-E. Tar. The treaty with the Sacs 
and Foxes, made at Rock Island in September of that 



HISTOBY OF MADISON. 17 

year, happily terminated the Indian difficulties of 
"Wisconsin. 

Shortly after the Black Hawk war had been crushed 
out, the attractions of this site brought settlers here, 
and on the 15th of October, 1832, an encampment 
was made by Capt. Low, James Halpin and Archi- 
bald Crisman, on Mendota Lake ridge. There were 
numerous Indians then located on the city site, hav- 
ing been concentrated here by the facilities offered by 
a French trader, whose abode was on the ground now 
crossed by Johnson street. Rowan, the Indian trader 
into whose hands the watch of Lieut. Force fell as 
lawful spoil, had long before taken up his location in 
this neighborhood. Mr. Abel Rasdall, a native of 
Kentucky, another early resident, commenced his 
"Wisconsin experiences as a lead miner, and thence 
diverging into the avocation of an Indian trader, was 
connected by marriage with a "Winnebago woman. 
After her death, he married another of the same tribe, 
but she eventually migrated west with her own peo 
pie, and her husband was not entirely inconsolable. 
Rasdall had been for a considerable time a prosper- 
ous trader among the Indians before the war com- 
menced, but during the continuance of hostilities 
with Black Hawk, Abel Kasdall was one of the 
readiest and most daring of our volunteers. He con- 
tinued a resident in Dane county until his death at 
Token Creek, in 1857, when he was fifty-two years old. 
After the conclusion of his Indian engagements, Mr. 
Kasdall took to himself a wife of his own race in this 



]8 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

city, and raised a family as the result of that mar- 
riage. He had traded in Dane county, and more 
especially around the Four Lakes, since the year 
before the Black Hawk war. 

From the time of the first colony planted in Illi- 
nois by La Salle, in 167S-9, the Canadian voyagers 
and colonists had customarily intermarried with the 
Indians with, as a rule, no other result than that the 
more civilized race was absorbed by the other, and 
the result did not exhibit a corresponding increase 
of capacity to appropriate the advantages of civ- 
ilization. Some of the half breeds were sharp and 
dangerous, but few are known as estimable men. 
One of the earliest traders here seems to have been an 
exception to that rule. His name was Michel St. 
Cyr, son of a Canadian Frenchman, by a Winnebago. 
Living always on the frontier and among the Indians, 
he had not participated in the advantages of schools, 
but he bore an excellent character as a man of verac- 
ity, a virtue not always found associated with civili- 
zation, although certainly a part of the highest. St. 
Cyr was one of the traders in the Four Lake country, 
dividing his attention between the traffic by which he 
made money and a small garden, that gave him and 
his Winnebago children a subsistence. His cabin 
served occasionally as a caravanserai and something 
more, when travelers visited the lakes. Eventually 
St. Cyr sold out his improvements to Col. Slaughter, 
and retired to the Winnebago reservation in Iowa. 
His sons were considered worthless, even by the In- 



HISTORY OF MADISON". 19 

dians, and that atom of civilization was utterly erased. 
The F. F. Y.'s would not trace their lineage to Poca- 
hontas, rt the husband of that lady had been domi- 
ciliated among the tribes, and if the result of that 
marriage had been given over to Indian customs and 
general training. 

Preliminary steps for the survey of the lands in 
this locality were taken by the general government 
in 1834, and before the end of the year, that duty had 
been completed. The survey and plat of this city 
were made under special directions from Judge Doty, 
who had long before that time been impressed by the 
beauty of this site and its surroundings. The fur- 
ther proceedings of the early settlers must be dealt 
with in a future chapter. 



20 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 



CHAPTEK II. 

LOCATING THE CAPITAL. 

Settlement had made little progress when the ques- 
tion aro'se, " where shall we fix our capital ? " Suddenly, 
from all parts of the territory, arose the voice of in- 
domitable advocates, and when the first legislature 
was convened at Belmont, there was a display of log- 
rolling such as could hardly be excelled. Judge Doty, 
who had traversed nearly the whole territory on 
horseback or in his canoe, accoutred " with his green 
blanket and shot gun," might have been trusted to 
make the selection, but for the fact, that he had 
long since decided in his own mind, and had joined 
with Gov. Mason of Michigan, in purchasing the site 
occupied by this city for $1,500. Fond du Lac, 
Dubuque, in Iowa, which was part of our territory, 
Portage, Belmont, Helena, Eacine, Milwaukee, Platte- 
ville, Mineral Point, Cassville, Green Bay, Kosh- 
konong, Belleview, Wisconsinapolis, "Wisconsin City 
and Peru, were all advocated with unscrupulous zeal, 
and every one of the rival cities, many of which, like 
Madison, lived only on paper, had anxious friends 
who were ready to abandon their own chances for the 
time, to unite on any of the others, only to defeat the 
most dangerous competitor. Madison was, perhaps, 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 21 

chanrpioned in the same way as most of the other 
cities of the brain, but with more success. Corner 
lots were much in request, among the men whose 
votes could make or unmake a capital at Belmont, 
and lobbying was the rule. It is tacitly admitted by 
many, and openly stated by some, that Madison 
~mio-ht not have been selected as the site, had not 
Judge Doty permitted many legislators and their 
bosom friends, a pecuniary interest in the venture 
which Gov. Mason and he had made. The majority 
in the legislative council, as it was, proved to be only 
one in an aggregate of thirteen, and in the house of 
representatives, only four in an aggregate of twenty- 
six. The margin was too small for comfort, but it 
was sufficient. Thus it happened, that after an 
exciting contest, the peninsula between the third and 
fourth of the Four Lakes was chosen as the home of 
our territorial government, and became the site of the 
handsome city which we claim has become the admired 
of all observers. 

The time in which this lively conflict occurred 
was especially full of land speculators. The public 
domain had enriched hundreds, and millions were 
hoping that the same process might cover all their 
needs forever. It was being realized in 1836 that 
there were blanks as well as prizes in the lottery, and 
a collapse was felt to be imminent. The founders of 
paper cities were snatching a new eloquence from 
despair, and this location of the capital was one of 
many schemes on which fortunes depended. The 



22 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

elegance of some of the maps, the fervor of some of 
their expounders, might have charmed an impartial 
legislator, could a phenomenon so rare have been 
found in the territory of "Wisconsin, to record his 
vote for either of the projects. Happily, the proposi- 
tion of Judge Dotv von a controlling interest, and 
three commissioners, chosen by joint ballot, were en- 
trusted with the task of selecting plans, making con- 
tracts and superintending the erection of the capitol. 

The sparse settlement of the territory generally, 
and of this section more particularly, cannot be better 
illustrated than by recording a few of the experiences 
of travelers, about the time of, and soon after the 
passage of the act which determined the seat of gov- 
ernment. The sessions of the legislative assembly 
were appointed to be held at Burlington, in Des 
Moines county, now Iowa, until March 4, 1839, unless 
the government buildings here should be completed 
earlier; and it was necessary to bring from a dis- 
tance every man that was wanted to assist in the 
work of preparation. The commissioners chosen for 
the task before named were Augustus A. Bird, 
acting commissioner, James Duane Doty, treasurer, 
and John F. O'Neill. The sum appropriated for the 
erection was $20,000, a very small amount, considering 
the difficulties under which the work was to be under- 
taken, but help was expected from congress. 

In the month following the choice of commission- 
ers, that is to say in January, 1837, Madison was vis- 
ited from Milwaukee, by a young lawyer and land 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 23 

surveyor, since known to fame as the Hon. Moses M. 
Strong, of Mineral Point, who from that time has 
been associated with the progress of Wisconsin by his 
identification with railroads, river improvements, and 
other public works, as well as by repeated terms of 
service in various offices, and in the legislature of the 
territory, as member and president in the constitu- 
tional convention to form a state constitution, and in 
the house of representatives of the state, for some 
time speaker. Mr. Strong, accompanied by Mr. Marsh 
and Mr. Potter, explored this section of country, and 
after much trouble, found the locality on which the 
capitol now stands; but they were not quite so' fortu- 
nate in discovering Michel St. Cyr's cabin, where 
they hoped to obtain quarters, so that they were com- 
pelled to pass the night without shelter or food for 
their horses or themselves, on the spot where Ashton 
post office now stands, in the town of Springfield. 
From that bivouac, the party made their course by the 
Blue Mounds to Mineral Point. Mr. Strong was em- 
ployed, in February of the same year, by Judge Doty, 
to survey and stake off capitol square, and some of the 
adjoining lots in this city, and the haste with which 
the work must needs be pushed through would not 
allow time to be lost in waiting for genial weather. 
Mr. John Catlin and Mr. George Messersmith accom- 
panied the surveyor on this expedition, and Mr. Josiah 
A. JSToonan joined the party on the way. The com- 
missariat department was much better cared for than 
it had been in the preceding month, as Mr. Strong 



24: HISTORY OF MADISON. 

and his party stayed with St. Cyr, and were probably 
regaled with the half-breed's standing dish, musk rat 
pie, while the actual survey was progressing. The 
several days journey to and from this city were thus 
recorded: The first day out from Mineral Point, the 
party reached Mr. John Messersmith's, just twelve 
miles east. On the 18th of February, they called at 
Brigham's, where they procured provisions, and then 
pushed on to Haney's Creek, near the Cross Plains 
station on Black Earth Creek, spending that night at 
Steel's. The following day the party arrived at St. 
Cyr's, early enough to permit of the work being com- 
menced. St. Cyr's place was so far from the scene of 
their labors, that the party camped out part of the 
time, despite the inclemency of the season, but heavy 
and incessant falls of snow compelled them to desist 
from their labors for many days, making the half- 
breed's cabin their headquarters. After completing 
their survey for the time, Mr. Strong and his party 
returned by way of Wallis Rowan's, who lived where 
Povnette now stands, about twelve miles south from 
Fort Winnebago. Going by the Wisconsin river, the 
party reached Helena, and thence struck across to 
Mineral Point. The scanty narrative indicates the 
nakedness of the land; but the work just accomplished 
led the way to the building of numerous habitations. 
Other travelers passing over various routes toward the 
mines, or with this city as their objective point, reveal 
the existence of Prairie Tillage where Waukesha now 
stands, and also the intermediate halting place at Fort 




^U.WVNN. 



Mrs. Eben Peok. 



HISTORY OF MADISOM. 27 

Atkinson, en route to the Catfisli river. Mr. Alex. F. 
Pratt and Mr. Augustus Story made that route in 
February, 1837, shortly after the survey party had set 
out on their return to Mineral Point, and the new 
comers had been twenty-four hours without food, 
when they left their camp near the present site of 
Dunkirk. The men who went exploring in those 
days had no reason to expect luxurious living. A few 
cold roast potatoes, unceremoniously found in a wig- 
wam from which the owners were absent, were con- 
sumed with abundant relish at noon after their long 
fast, and no other food was obtained until the next 
day, when they discovered St. Cyr's cabin on Fourth 
Jake. The travelers had camped without supper, in a 
ravine near where the State University now stands. 
The savory musk rat was a treat, by comparison with 
such short commons, and the party started for Blue 
Mounds well prepared for a journey. Similar lodg- 
ings and fare would not now be considered tempting, 
but pioneer life does not encourage a too critical 
taste. 

More spacious and comfortable quarters were to be 
made ready on the site of Madison by Mr. Eben 
Peck and his wife, Kosaline. Two months only had 
elapsed since the second visit of the surveying party, 
when the Peck family started from Blue Mounds to 
open a pioneer boarding house here. The snow had 
not gone when Mr. Peck commenced the erection of 
his premises, on land bought immediately after the 
location of the capitol; but Mr. Catlin had already 



28 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

caused a log house to be erected where the post office 
now stands. Owing to an accident, the interior of 
Mr. Catlin's house was destroyed by fire before it 
could be occupied; thus it happened that the Peck 
hostelry was the first residence in Madison. 

There were some rough and ready specimens of 
humanity then on hand in this region. Two French- 
men, who had associated with a party of "Winnebago 
Indians in the Blue Mounds during the winter, were 
employed to build the house, the work being superin- 
tended by Abraham Wood, who subsequently put up 
a saw mill at Baraboo. Wood was at that time liv- 
ing at Winnequah, then known as Strawberry Point, 
where he enjoyed the distinction of being the son-in- 
law of De Kaury, son of a Frenchman, a Winnebago 
chief. Wood bore an excellent reputation, but some 
of his surroundings were very hard cases. One of 
the Frenchmen was shot, in a dispute about land, 
by Berry Haney, a rival claimant, and generally, life 
was but cheaply held in those troubled times. 

Snow and the howling of wolves awakened Mrs. 
Peck from her slumbers in a tent, three miles from 
Madison, on Saturday, April 15, 1837, and she pushed 
on through the storm to the site of her more substan- 
tial dwelling, where she sat down under a tree in her 
wagon, twenty-five miles from the nearest white resi- 
dents at Blue Mounds, and nearly one hundred miles 
from the settlers at Milwaukee. The building was 
not far enough advanced to satisfy the demands of the 
hostess, and a temporary habitation was constructed, 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 29 

to serve until tlie larger place could be comfortably 
floored and plastered. The little hotel was speedily 
crowded with guests. Milwaukee and far away New 
York were represented by visitors, and even England 
had contributed its quota to the roll of occupants. 
The comforts of the establishment were substantial 
from the first, although necessarily the bill of fare 
consisted of such articles, as could be transported from 
considerable distances; but very soon the table was a 
marvel to beholders, and cleanliness, the first requisite 
towards elegance, was a welcome feature from the 
beginning. The grand dining room was as well ven- 
tilated as the winds of heaven could make it, the hos- 
pitable board being spread in the open air to meet the 
requirements of some fifteen new arrivals. Judge 
Doty, Col. Brigham and Commissioner Bird, with 
others whose names are historical, were frequent visi- 
tors, and the unfinished building was tapestried with 
bed sheets to furnish sleeping accommodations. The 
troubles incidental to pioneer housekeeping are always 
of interest to people living in the west, and, with few 
exceptions, the men who sought accommodation then 
in Madison made themselves completely at home, 
hunting, fishing and otherwise during their leisure, 
increasing the variety of the table. Judge, after- 
wards Governor, Doty gave an excellent example of 
helpfulness by assisting a party of amateur plasterers 
to make the kitchen habitable, and one day's work 
under his direction effected much. The cheery spirit 
thus indicated was worth more than all the material 



30 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

aid, as it nerved the sturdy matron to master the sit- 
uation. Before long the sounds of gayety within that 
building would have been a surprise to the languid 
pleasure seekers in much more costly mansions. 
Really, at all times, the pleasure that can be found in 
palace or cottage depends upon glad hearts, and not 
upon the presence of luxurious viands. 

Madison was then so great on various maps that it 
might well have been matter for surprise that the. 
legislative assembly had been convened for its first ses- 
sion at Belmont, and for its subsequent sessions, until 
1839, at Burlington, now in Iowa; but, as will readily 
be understood, it is far more easy to construct a city 
on paper than to build one on the solid earth. " Castles 
in the air are very often erected before breakfast, but 
there is just one drawback, that nobody ever dines in 
such structures. Madison city was then, vide pros- 
pectuses, the metropolitan center of cities, corres- 
ponding to the seven hills of Rome, when, in fact, 
it was only a village in faturo. 

The beauty of the surrounding country, with its 
twelve lakes, might well have concentrated attention 
upon Dane county, and the four lakes in Yahara, or 
Catfish valley, lying almost in a direct line from 
northwest to southeast, could not fail to be recognized 
as the regal crown of all this natural loveliness. Ke- 
gonsa, or First Lake, lowest of the four bodies of 
water, covers five square miles, having a circumfer- 
ence of nine miles and a half, its longest diameter 
being over three miles, and its shortest fully two. 




ii! § 

: "-' l ' !!|fllllil! 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 33 

Waubesa, the Second Lake, is three miles and a half 
above Kegonsa, in the towns of Dunn and Blooming 
Grove. This lake has an average depth of twelve 
feet of crystal clear water, through which the pebbly 
bottom can be seen as if through glass. This beauti- 
ful sheet of crystal is three and a half miles long by 
about two miles across. Monona, the lovely Third 
Lake, is only seven-eighths of a mile above Waubesa, 
covering an area of six square miles, being six and a 
half miles long by two broad, and the strip of land 
which divides this lake from Mendota, the Fourth 
Lake, is the site of the capital of Wisconsin. The 
painter's pencil can alone do justice to the scene; 
words fail to convey an adequate conception of the 
picturesque effect which is mirrored to the brain, when 
an artist looks from the high ground, or still better, 
from the cupola of the capitol, upon the hills and 
lakes which seem to rival the loveliness of the moon 
and stars in the azure firmament under which they 
are now lying silvered before us. Mendota is by far 
the largest of the lakes, as it covers an area of more 
than twenty square miles. Its longest diameter is 
six miles, and its breadth is fully four. Could the 
whole of the legislature have been brought to this 
spot in the spring or summer of 1836, it may be hoped 
that there would have been less scope for the log- 
rolling process at Belmont, in the succeeding winter, 
which came within one vote of negativing the propo- 
sition to make Madison the capital of the territory; 
but perhaps even then it would hr.-e been difficult. 



34 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

The commissioners charged with the erection of the 
capitol building, in which the functions of govern- 
ment were to be undertaken, were not dilatory in 
commencing their duties, and by the tenth of June 
there were thirty-six workmen upon the ground, under 
the direction of Commissioner Augustus A. Bird. The 
party had traveled with their teams from Milwaukee, 
making their roads as they came, fording streams, and 
threading their devious way through occasional 
swamps, much of the time under a drenching rain, for 
just ten days, to effect a transit which is now daily 
accomplished in little more than four hours. The sun 
gleamed out once upon the travelers, and the spot, 
made glorious by that welcome illumination, has ever 
since been known as Sun Prairie. Other workmen 
speedily followed, and it is interesting to note, in their 
several narratives, the progress in settlement along 
the traveled route, as the summer wore on. E^rly in 
August there was a log house and an Indian camping 
ground at Prairieville, formerly Prairie Village, now 
Waukesha, and five miles beyond that location, a log 
house occupied by a family named Pratt, which had 
settled on 160 acres. Half a day's journey further 
on, some settlers of the name of Brown had taken up 
a quarter section, and about eight miles from the lap- 
ids of Pock river, near the site of Watertown, were 
three brothers named Setchell, preparing homes for 
their families. A dam and sawmill were in course of 
erection at Water town, by Mr. Goodhue, and at Lake 
Mills the Atwoods had made a comfortable abode 




KBN6 STREET. 
(Between Webster and Pinckney Streets) 

LOOKING WEST. 



HTSTOET OF MADISON. 37 

just twenty-eight miles from the capital. Settlement 
had made no nearer approach to Madison on 'that line of 
road, but the trail was well defined, and there was no 
difficulty in traveling where so many had already 
passed. The clear air of the capital, and the bustle 
of preparation, must have made the appetites of the 
workmen keen, as the records of the time continually 
mention expeditions to Galena and elsewhere, to re- 
plenish an often exhausted commissariat. Such crea- 
ture comforts as pork, flour, and some few luxuries, 
were dealt out with no sparing hand, as all testimo- 
nies go to show. 

The corner-stone was laid at the southeast corner of 
the capitol, on the 4th of July, 1837, and there was no 
lack of eloquence to celebrate the event ; but the press 
was not represented on the occasion, hence the speeches 
are not recorded. There was another celebration in 
November, when the foundation was completed and 
the stone work ceased for the season. The money to 
pay the hands had to be brought from Green Bay; 
and Mr. Peck, wdio acted as courier in that emergency, 
swam several of the rivers, so that his wallet of 
paper money was somewhat dilapidated when he 
reached home. By November, 1S38, the assembly 
and senate chambers were finished, but the plaster- 
ing was not dry, so that the sessions of the legisla- 
ture were held for a time in a new building, the 
American Hotel, erected at the corner of Piuck- 
ney street and "Washington avenue, where the Park 
Savings Bank now stands, by Mr. A. A. Bird, the 



38 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

contractor for the capitol, and his partner, Mr. Mor- 
rison. 

Most of the workmen erected their own rude dwell- 
ings in the vicinity of King street, near the Third 
lake, immediately after their arrival ; but none of the 
buildings remain at this time. There was a very 
hearty and unanimous celebration on the 4th of July, 
1S37, and Mrs. Peck claims that there were from two 
to three hundred persons present, including the In- 
dian chief, Little Dandy and his party; but Gen. Mills 
and Mr. Catlin believe there must have been a misap- 
prehension as to the extent of the gathering. The 
glorification lasted several days, and Madison has 
never entered with more general gusto upon the na- 
tional celebration than was realized on that occasion 
by the little handful of white men and their Indian 
allies. Probably some of the confusion that was 
subsequently found in the accounts of the commis- 
sioners was due to the spirit that pervaded the first 
and many subsequent convivialities. 

Under the act which provided for the building of 
the capitol, and appointed commissioners for the pur- 
pose, there was an appropriation of $20,000, to which 
congress added a like sum, making $40,000 in all. 

The first meeting of the legislature in the city of 
Madison was held in the American Hotel on the 26th 
of February, 1838, and Governor Dodge delivered his 
first message to the legislature in Madison in that 
building. A committee reported that the hall and 
council chamber would be ready for the representa- 
tives and for the senate on the first day of March, 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 39 

and after some little further delay the rooms were ac- 
tually occupied, but it was an act of hardihood to at- 
tempt the transaction of business under such diffi- 
culties. Col. Childs, one of the members who was 
entrusted with the task of carpeting the rooms and 
rendering them habitable, has left a record of the 
sad condition of affairs, in which Contractor Morri- 
son's hogs were better sheltered than the law makers 
for "Wisconsin. If under such circumstances there 
were some efforts at log rolling, it may have been 
merely to maintain animal heat, by such exercise. 
The legislature adjourned for twenty days, to permit 
of the hall and chamber being rendered, in some de- 
gree, warm and comfortable. There was a difficulty 
in procuring hotel accommodation also, although 
there were now three houses where guests could be 
received. The Madison Hotel had two rooms that 
would lodge four persons each; the Madison House 
also two rooms that would lodge six altogether, and 
the American Hotel had eight rooms, in which twen- 
ty-six members could find accommodation. The 
prices charged were high enough to satisfy the most 
fastidious, but in every other respect, there was abun- 
dant room for complaint. Happily the pioneers were 
inclined to make the best of things .as they were, al- 
though Judge J. G. Knapp asserts that six men were 
placed in a room, only sixteen feet square, in the 
Madison Hotel, and that the floors all over that pop- 
ulous establishment were nightly covered with shake 
downs, for transient visitors. 



40 HISTORY OF MADISON. 



CHAPTER III. 
PIONEERS AND CELEBRITIES. 

* 

The pioneers of our city were not the first settlers 
in the territory, now known as Wisconsin, and there- 
fore we shall look outside our own borders to con- 
struct a sketch of the early days, which will connect 
the house of Eben Peck and his wife Rosaline, with 
the remote past, as well as with the present. The 
chief whose name is spelt by different writers in so 
many differing ways, De Kaury, Day-Kau-Iiay, De- 
corrah, Decori, and otherwise, in every manner that 
will give even an approximation to the original sound, 
is said to have been the son of a French voyageur, or 
trapper, who had made his home among the Indians, 
giving rise to a succession of able men, who were in- 
fluential in the affairs of the tribes. One of that 
family, a Winnebago, surrendered Black Hawk to 
Gen. Street, the Indian Agent, at Prairie du Chien, 
after the close of the Black Hawk war in 1S32. The 
Frenchman Pellkie — whose name is undoubtedly a 
corruption from the original, who assisted to build 
the first log house for Eben Peck — was officered by 
another resident among the Indians, named Wood, 
afterwards a mill owner, who had married into the 
family of a De Kaury. Some exquisite stories could 



IIISTOET OF MADISON. 41 

be written of the Four Lake country, connecting In- 
dians with white men, in the days before the city of 
Madison was even imagined. One of the De Kaurvs 
exercised the powers of a chief in this immediate lo- 
cality. Gray-headed Day-Kau-Ray or De Kaury, 
with a considerable force, met Gen. Atkinson at 
Portage, while Gen. Dodge was in the field during 
the troubles preliminary to the war, which was ended 
at the Bad Ax. They were various in their character- 
istics, as well as numerous and widely diffused, these 
Franco-Indian warriors and sachems. One-eyed De 
Kaury of La Crosse bore a good reputation, but an- 
other of the family was suggestively described as 
Rascal De Kaury. Mrs. Kinzie says that the mother 
of the race, a Winnebago, was alive in 1831, and sup- 
posed to be more than a century old. There were 
four or five brothers, of whom the Winnebago chief 
was one, and Washington— or Wau-kon — De Kaury 
another. One sister married a French trader named 
Lecuyer, another was twice married to Canadian 
French traders, named De Riviere and Grignon, and 
three married Indians'. But enough about the De 
Kaurys. They were pioneers in this territory, busily 
en£rao-ed in the war of 1812 on the side of the British, 
and the advent of white settlers was the prelude to 
their removal by death or transfer. Descendants from 
the Lecuyer marriage were united in wedlock with 
white settlers at Green Bay, and elsewhere, and pros- 
pered according to the customs of civilized life. 
Eben Peck and his wife came to the Blue Mounds, 



42 HISTORY OF MADISON. ' 

where they rented the tavern stand owned by Col. 
Brighani, and boarded the old colonel and the hands 
employed by him. "While so engaged, Mrs. Peck en- 
tertained Judge and Mrs. Doty on one occasion, and 
the conversation turning upon Madison, where the 
location of the capital was yet recent, the judge and 
his good lady made a promise, which was afterwards 
forgotten, apparently, that if Mrs. Peck was the first 
to commence housekeeping on the village site, she 
should have the best lot in the township, and also a 
present. Mrs. Peck was the first housekeeper, but it 
is probable that she did not care to recall the promise, 
which in the hurry of affairs, at that time, might 
easily have been forgotten by Judge Doty. Boarding 
houses must have been expensive and troublesome 
institutions to run, in the early days, as we find that 
flour fetched $17 a barrel in Milwaukee in 1838, irre- 
spective of the cost of freight, in the days when trav- 
elers made their own routes, and carried axes along to 
cut down the timber that blocked their course. Pork 
cost as high as $33 per barrel, and potatoes $3 per 
bushel ; add thereto the cost of transfer, and the profits 
incidental to boarders must have been whittled down 
considerably. Some courage was wanted then to open 
an establishment, such as the Peck family meant to 
run, when Indian villages were the only habitations 
near, and deserted wigwams along the borders of the 
lakes and streams told of the red men who had flour- 
ished and faded in this locality. Until now the cabin 
of Michel St. Cyr had served all the purposes of a 




FfRST M@OSI UNI MftBIS©! 
1837. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 45 

hostelry, and the old man had not grown rich by en- 
tertaining his few and scattering guests. 

There was certain to be a much greater demand for 
hotel accommodation, because the capitol had to be 
soon erected, and visitors were sure to become more 
numerous as the works advanced, but the workmen, 
as the event proved, would build their own lodgings 
before long, and make arrangements among them- 
selves about cooking provisions. Travelers who came 
to see the country, to visit the mines, or to see the 
spots made famous by engagements during the Black 
Hawk war of five years before, seldom failed to visit 
Madison, which had charms of its own sufficient to 
justify a detour. Before long there were numerous 
hotels doing a prosperous business on the ground 
which had at first been exclusively possessed by-Eben 
Peck's log house; and hundreds occupied their leisure 
in exploring the sparkling lakes, skirted with every 
kind of scenic beauty. Groves and meadows, sugges- 
tive of love in a cottage, capes, bluffs, ravines and 
prairies, the peninsula itself with its elevation seventy 
feet above the lakes, on which the capitol stands, now 
in the center of a lovely park, the undulating lines 
descending thence to rise again in numerous ridges, 
and most beautiful of all, in the grounds now occu- 
pied by the university, offered variety enough to grat- 
ify the most persistent searcher after loveliness. Mrs. 
Peck became the owner of a canoe which had been 
the property of an Indian chief, and Cleopatra never 
enjoyed her famous voyages, celebrated by the poets, 



•16 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

more than did the few who were privileged to glide 
over the lakes of crystal in that vessel. Only to see 
that boat freighted with pleasure seekers was a delight 
equal to all that is realized by the average looker on 
in contemplating a regatta. The joy of the rowers, 
and the charms of the scene could not be surpassed. 
A picture painted by C. A. Johnson, a fine and truth- 
ful representation of the first residence in Madison, 
with the canoe in the distance, is one of the most val- 
ued properties of the Historical Society, and an en- 
graving of that scene accompanies this sketch. The 
primitive looking dwelling was at one time quite a 
luxurious abode, on Butler street, near the Lake House, 
lately destroyed by fire, not far from the Third Lake. 

The picture is a perfect reproduction of the reality, 
in almost every detail. 

Professor Chapman has recorded one fact which 
should long since have been tested by experience, in 
the natural desire of the early settlers to vary the sup- 
plies on their table. He states on the authority of 
Mr. Rasdall that the Indians used a root which grew 
in the marshes, as a substitute for potatoes, called by 
the red men no-ah-how-in. It was bulbous, but did 
not resemble arrow root. Mr. Rasdall said that hav- 
ing been cast ashore, without provisions, from Men- 
dota Lake, in 1835, while arranging a trading estab- 
lishment near the First Lake, he had subsisted on the 
root in question for ten days. The early settlers were 
not very speculative, as it appears that water for daily 
consumption was brought from the lakes until 1S30, 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 47 

when the first well upon the plat was excavated on 
the American House lot, the labor being performed 
by two soldiers, James ISTevil and an Italian named 
"Whildean. Mr. Darwin Clark, onr fellow citizen, 
gives a vivid idea of the state of society in the sum- 
mer of 1837, and while glancing thereat, we can un- 
derstand that a fully employed population, engaged 
upon a task which must be finished in a hurry, and 
surrounded by hot blooded Indians, had little oppor- 
tunity for making permanent improvements, which 
others would probably enjoy. That summer a party 
of Winnebagoes camped on the shore of the Third 
Lake, on the flat just below the old Lake House. 
During the continuance of the encampment, a quarrel 
occurred between two young Indians, one of whom 
stabbed the other, and from different sources we learn 
that the murderer sat on the body of his victim with 
perfect unconcern, smoking his pipe, as though mod- 
estly disclaiming special merit in a very creditable 
transaction. The white workmen, who were unaccus- 
tomed to look upon murder with satisfaction, were 
much incensed, and by way of warning that the knives 
of the red men must not be too freely brought in as 
umpires, they carried their rifles and shot guns to and 
from their work. The Winnebagoes took the hint in 
a proper spirit, and soon after left for parts unknown. 
The Indian stabbed as above described, was the brother- 
in-law of Pellkie's partner, another French Canadian, 
and, as stated elsewhere, Pellkie was himself shot on 
a subsequent occasion. There were consequently other 



48 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

matters deserving attention besides digging wells, 
and seeking roots as substitutes for the potato. The 
vigorous action of the volunteers, who provided their 
own rifles and ammunition, may have prevented worse 
trouble. Public o^pMoidh, speaking through the rifle 
barrel, was a power which the red skins did not wish 
to provoke. 

About two weeks after the arrival of Mrs. Peck in 
Madison, a party of fifteen men came on from Mil- 
waukee via Janesville, and the work of the hostess be- 
gan in earnest. Commissioner Bird was one of the ar- 
rivals, and he was accompanied by hired hands whose 
work had consisted in blazing and preparing a road by 
which other workmen and supplies would follow. It 
was important that proper tracks should be defined 
where so much traffic must shortly occur and the act- 
ing commissioner was provident. The American 
Hotel, already mentioned, was built in 1838, and cir- 
cumstances g-ave that establishment an advantage over 
all competitors, for a time. It continued to be a place 
of considerable note, until it was destroyed by fire in 
1868. The Madison Hotel also dated from 1838, but 
the structure was at first quite small. The territor- 
ial supreme court was organized in this building, in 
June, 1838, and held its first session here when the 
legislature assembled in the American Hotel. Gov. 
Dodge and many of the leading members of both 
houses made the Madison Hotel their headquarters. 
The structure belonged to Commissioner Bird, and was 
at first kept by his brother. The long continued efforts 






Wttzztfrt; 




HISTORY OF MADISON. 40 

of the other side to remove the seat of government from 
Madison found in this building an unceasing watch- 
fulness which could not he evaded. There were nu- 
merous hosts, after the hotel passed out of the hands 
of the Bird family, and the name was changed several 
times, but it was known by the old name at the last, 
in March, 1863. It was situated on King street on the 
present site of Dean's block. The establishment kept 
by Mr. and Mrs. Peck, has already been mentioned. 
The new comers, whose names and influence have 
been beneficially associated with Madison since that 
date, would defy enumeration, but there are some who 
cannot be omitted, from a record, however brief, which 
aims at any measure of completeness. The scene en- 
acted in plastering the kitchen of the Peck boarding 
house, in which Judge Doty, Col. Brigham, and all 
the available masculinity of Madison, took part, is 
historical. The pioneers of Wisconsin were well 
represented and well occirpied on that occasion. 
One of the earliest visitors from abroad, was an Eng- 
lish geologist named Featherstonehaugh, afterwards a 
British consul until his death in 1866, and he pro- 
voked the ire of his hostess at a later date, by some 
ill-mannered jokes and very unnecessary criticisms, 
about Mrs. Peck and the accommodations obtained in 
her pioneer restaurant, which Avere published by 
him in London. There is unexceptional testimony, 
from a witness no less reliable than Gen. Mills, that 
Mrs. Rosaline Peck made excellent coffee, a point 
expressly denied by the earliest writer whose lucu- 
4 



50 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

brations concerning Madison, were published in 
Europe. The somewhat vulgar and untrustworthy 
book served its purpose in procuring him a govern- 
ment appointment under the British crown, so that 
Madison helped at least one man to fortune. 

Before the days of Featherstonehaugh, there had 
been celebrities in Wisconsin, and not a few of them 
had stood where the capitol has since been erected. 
Capt. Jonathan Carver may have been a visitor to this 
precise locality, certainly he was for some time in the 
lake country. Gen. Dodge, who came occasionally 
to the capital, in discharging his official duties as 
governor, was in that way a Madisonian, and it is no 
small matter that we should be identified with the 
man whose conduct . of the war did most toward 
effecting- the defeat of Black Hawk in 1832. Col. 
Zachary Taylor was for some time in command of the 
troops in Prairie du Chien, and while there, a young 
lieutenant, Jefferson Davis, was sparking the daughter 
of the commandant, so that there were two celebrities 
in Wisconsin; the one destined to become president of 
the United States, after serving the country for many 
years in the field with "rough and ready" effective- 
ness, and to die of the turmoil of political life; the 
other, to lose by ill-directed ambition, the repute won 
as a soldier, and to find the grave of his success in 
the presidency of the confederation whose ruin it was 
his fortune to survive. Both officers rendered good ser- 
vice in the Black Hawk war until the end was reached 
in the battle of the Bad Axe on the second of August, 



.HISTORY OF MADISON". 51 

1'832. But for the vigor with which the United States 
troops and volunteers fought then, in vindication of 
the faith to be placed in treaties, and in defense of 
property and life, there might have been no Madi- 
son on this peninsula. In that sense the men named 
were pioneers. 

The Hon. John Catlin was essentially among the 
first comers. He was one of the party that accom- 
panied the surveyor, Moses M. Strong, to survey and 
plat the town, and a lot purchased by himself, near 
the present post office, was utilized by him by the 
erection thereon of a log house, to be used as the post 
office store. That building was the first erected in 
Madison, as it was commenced some time before Eben 
Peck began his structure; but an accident destroyed 
the interior of the building, a fire having been by 
some means originated, and in consequence the prime- 
val log house was not the first residence. Mr. Catlin 
was the pioneer par excellence. He was a Green 
Mountain boy, as he came from Orwell, Yermont. 
He" was a partner with Mr. Strong in the law business 
at Mineral Point in 1836, and clerk of the supreme 
court. He became postmaster in this city in 1837. Pe- 
moved from office by Gen. Harrison, he was reappoint- 
ed by President Tyler. Subsequently he served as 
chief clerk of the house of representatives; was district 
attorney for Dane county, and judge at a later date; in 
1816, he became secretary of the territory. Mr. Catlin 
was a good citizen and an able man of business. He 
died in 1871. 



52 HISTORY OF MADISOX. 

Hon. Simeon Mills ranks in the same category, 
with this difference, that he still remains in our com- 
munity. Born in Norfolk, Litchfield county, Conn., in 
February, 1810, he is now in his sixty-seventh year, and 
he has spent his lifetime in "Wisconsin since attaining 
the age of twenty-five. Mineral Point was his first 
abode in this territory, but immediately after the loca- 
tion of the capital, he moved to this city when there 
was only one house upon the ground, and on the 10th 
of June, 1837, he commenced a small building of hewed 
logs, in which to begin business as a storekeeper. 
For five years from 1837, Mr. Mills carried the mails 
to and from this city for the government, and about 
the same time the responsible duties of a justice of 
the peace were imposed upon him by Gov. Dodge. 
Numerous offices of honor and emolument have since 
that date been conferred on Mr. Mills. He was one 
of the commissioners for Dane county upon its organ- 
ization in 1839; clerk of the United States district 
court; territorial treasurer; first senator for Dane 
county; one of the regents engaged in the organiza- 
tion of the state university, and subsequently pay- 
master general of the state during the war, from 1861. 
The record left by Gen. Mills, in every relation of his 
well spent life, reflects credit on one of the oldest 
pioneer families in Dane county, and his industry has 
contributed, in no small degree, to the prosperity and 
growth of the city. 

Darwin Clark came to this city with acting com- 
missioner Bird, in the spring of 1837, to commence 



HISTOP.Y OF MADISOX. 53 

work as a cabinet maker on the capitol, and since that 
time he has been a resident in Madison, holding many 
offices of trust with honor to himself, and conducting 
for many years a very extensive business. He was 
born in Otsego county, N". Y., in May, 1812, in which 
state he also married his first wife. He set out foi 
the west when twenty-five years of age, to make a 
home where there would be better opportunities than 
in the crowded east. The pioneers had among them 
few more estimable men. A young mechanic of mark 
in the early days, when there was only one family in 
Madison, and growing up with the place, figuring in 
its gayeties in the first New Year's festivities, which 
lasted two clays, a guest at the first wedding when a 
young woman in Mrs. Peck's household became the 
wife of Jairus S. Potter, his name is interwoven with 
most of the early celebrations, as well as with many 
later responsibilities. 

The community was very limited when that mar- 
riage occurred, on the 1st of April, 1838, and the bet- 
ter half was held in high esteem. Gen. Simeon Mills, 
not then holding military rank, but a prosperous store- 
keeper, and in office, rose betimes to gather an early 
bouquet of wild flowers to grace the occasion. The 
spring, in honor of the event of course, came early, or 
that feature would have been wanting from the festi- 
val. The wedding ceremony was performed by Mr. 
Eben Peck, in his capacity as justice of the peace, and 
when the dance followed, the better half of the Peck 
family played on the violin, assisted by Luther, her 



54: IIISTOKY OF MADISON. 

husband's brother, according; as the exigencies of the 
time demanded. Mrs. Peck played well, but she 
danced well also, and there were so few ladies to take 
the floor that one could hardly be spared to form the 
orchestra. The disparity of the sexes was happily ex- 
pressed by Mrs. Peck: "You cannot call it succotash; 
there was too much corn for the beans." Both bride 
and bridegroom have since passed away, but the mem- 
ory of the event is part of the domestic history of the 
city. Mrs. Prosper B. Bird was present, and she yet 
remains to honor and grace our community, a living 
memento of a time from which sad memories, mingled 
with few delights, yield a gentle perfume as of bruised 
but never dying flowers. Mr. Potter died in Madi- 
son, somewhere about the year 1841. His wife's 
maiden name was Elizabeth Allen. There were two 
Potters then in the village, Jairus, known as " Long 
Potter," for he was a man of great altitude, and Hor- 
ace, whose more stunted proportions caused him to be 
known as " Short Potter." Miss Allen, after consid- 
ering " the long and the short of it," did not follow 
the maxim " of two evils choose the least," conse- 
quently there was more husband in her home than in 
any other household near the capitol. Darwin Clark 
was good for many things, besides, being good com- 
pany, in the early days, as thank goodness, he still re- 
mains. In the summer of 1S3T, when "Win. A. 
Wheeler came here to erect a steam saw mill west of 
the foot of Butler street, on the bank of lake Mendota, 
the young cabinet maker was able to give valuable 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 55 

assistance toward the erection of the works; and 
although owing to the fact that the engine and ma- 
chinery had to be brought from Detroit, operations 
were not commenced until nearly the end of the year ; 
much of the timber used in the old capitol was sawed 
in Wheeler's mill. The McDonalds, the Smiths, and 
others whose names have escaped us, who mingled in 
the throng when Commissioner Bird and his wife led 
off in the "Virginia reel " or "Hunt the squirrel," 
will never have for us more than a phantom existence, 
as they "come like shadows, so depart; " but friend 
Clark is a reality. 

The days in which Judge Doty, treasurer of the 
board of commissioners, came in from Green Bay 
with specie and currency to pay the men, guarded by 
( 'apt. John Symington and a squad of soldiers from 
Fort Howard, were not without their charm; more 
especially when we see the commissioner laying aside 
the pomp of office to stand sponsor at the informal 
christening of the first white child born in Madison; 
and editor Sholes, who w T as then in his company, must 
have been favorably impressed by our band of pio- 
neers. Some four years later we find the Hon. C. C. 
Sholes identified with the publication of the Enquin r 
newspaper, the material of which journal was eventu- 
ally removed to Milwaukee from this city. Mr. 
Sholes was more actively identified with Kenosha. 
The name most intimately associated with our early 
press is that of the Hon. George Hyer; but his work 
in that capacity will appear in reviewing our news- 



56 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

paper history. He was one of our pioneers, and be- 
fore Madison was platted, he had accustomed himself 
to thread his devious track through the woods, having 
on one occasion made his way from Milwaukee to 
Green Bay, and on another in 1837, from the same 
starting point to Rock river settlement, when he was 
specially sworn in by old Solomon Juneau to carry 
the mail. 

In the earliest apportionment of offices for Dane 
county, the name of John S toner occurs as treasurer, 
and that of R. L. Ream, father of the famous Yinnie 
Ream, a Madisonian, as register of deeds. Ream 
succeeded to the old log house erected by Eben Peck, 
after another residence had been built for that family. 
Geo. P. Delaplaine was surveyor, JNL T. Parkinson, 
the first sheriff, William A. Wheeler, assessor, Adam 
Smith, collector, and the three commissioners were, 
Simeon Mills, Eben Peck and Jeremiah Lycan, with 
LaFayette Kellogg for clerk. The father of Yinnie 
Ream assumed the management of the pioneer 
" Tavern Stand," as Mrs. Peck phrases it, when Eben 
and his wife gave their attention to farming, unfor- 
tunately for themselves, cultivating a piece of land 
which had been deeded to them by mistake. The 
change was made in the spring of 1838, and the birth 
place of the sculptress was torn down in 1S57, after 
twenty years of peculiarly eventful service. The old 
Madison House, the picture of which we preserve, was, 
under the presidency named, the resort of the aristo- 
cracy of Wisconsin, and it long continued to be the 



HIST0KY OF MADISON. 57 

stage house. According to Judge Knapp, the charges 
were not very moderate, as " two feet by six of floor 
could be had for the night," only upon payment of 
" two pence per square foot," and "the weary traveler 
might spread his own blanket, using his saddle or 
portmanteau for a jiillow, rejoicing that he had so 
good a bed." The other hotels were no more sump- 
tuous than Ream's, as in all of them, the lakes, the 
woods and the slow coining " prairie schooner," were 
drawn upon liberally to supply the table. Sleeping 
accommodation was at a premium everywhere, even 
after the American Hotel, the largest on the ground, 
was raised. 

The first treasurer of Dane county, John Stoner, 
was born in Washington county, Maryland, in 1791, 
consequently, when he died in this city, in 1872, he 
was in his eighty-first year. He served in the war of 
1812, and was one of the early arrivals in Madison 
village. His pioneer log cabin was in the second 
ward, abutting on the lot now occupied by the church 
of Norwegian Lutherans. The old landmarks are 
nearly all effaced, so far as they were raised by men 
in the springs and summers of 1837-8. The log house 
on the marsh is gone, the first frame house built in 
the city at the southwest corner of Wilson and Pinck- 
ney street, for J. S. Schermerhorn, has given place to 
a large two story brick dwelling. The old steam mill 
on the bank of the lake is so entirely gone that it is 
not easy to find even a trace of its foundations. A 
grey sandstone slab, erected to mark the spot where a 



58 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

carpenter named S. Warren was buried in 1S3S, hav- 
ing been killed by lightning in that summer, cannot 
be found. 

" Chief Justice of the Peace, Seymour," who is 
mentioned in a very pleasant and appreciative way 
in " Reminiscences of Madison," by Judge Knapp, 
loomed large in our early days, at once a pioneer and 
a celebrity. Mrs. Peck mentions him as possessed of 
a feather bed, once her property, and containing 
" over thirty pounds of fresh geese feathers," so that 
he had ideas of luxury. Judge Pratt says, that " his 
pipe was part of the man; with that in his mouth, he 
was clerk in the commissioners' store, kept books, 
dealt out silks and dry goods, tea and powder; was 
surveyor of the town plat, only he read the degrees 
and minutes at the wrong end of the needle; tried 
causes, civil and criminal, administered justice, min- 
gled largely with equity and common sense. . . : . . All 
knew he was the Gazette, the very latest edition, and 
he had under his special care all the affairs of town, 

state and church A dreadful sickness came 

upon him and Seymour lost Lis pipe, the city losing 
its best guardian." Gov. Dodge appointed Seymour 
justice of the peace, upon the recommendation of Eben 
Peck, when Dane county was organized, and the com- 
missioners set about bridging the Cattish, and erect- 
ing the jail, reducing " the bounty on wolves' scalps," 
to render their funds available for such works as have 
been suggested. "Win. IS. Seymour published a direc- 
tory of Madison, a copy of which is in the hands of 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 59 

the Historical Society. He has lived to see several 
other works of a similar character, but none of them 
mure interesting than his own. The stroke of paraly- 
sis under which he fell in November, 1S59, has not 
deprived him of the satisfaction of witnessing the 
steady growth of the city, the infant steps of whose 
village days were in part guided by himself. His 
form is well known on the streets, and most of the 
old pioneers can tell of some good deed in his career, 
which retains for him a pleasant place in their mem- 
ories. The Masonic fraternity stood by the "Chief 
Justice of the Peace " in his affliction, and by their 
aid he is comfortably circumstanced. 

Gen. Geo. P. Delaplaine was county surveyor. "We 
find him on the Fourth of July, 1839, reading the 
Jeffersonian Declaration, when William T. Sterling 
was Orator of the day, and the music on the occasion 
was anything but first class. The dinner that day 
c< nsisted of bacon and fish, with the addition of much 
whisky. Customarily the dinner comprised fish and 
bacon with less whisky. The celebration lasted 
three days. The pioneer Geo. P. Delaplaine came 
from Milwaukee to clerk in Jas. Morrison's store, and 
his ability no less than his high character soon made 
him master of the situation. His name stands 
honorably identified with most of the movements in 
early days for the advantage of Madison. Another 
of the early pioneers whose life has been honorable to 
the community, although there are no brilliant deeds 
to be pointed to in his career, is Mr. E. M. Williamson, 



60 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

of Pinckney street, one of our earliest school teachers, 
and identified with the establishment of the Episco- 
pal church, which will be found more particularly 
mentioned elsewhere. Many names that should have 
had notice have been omitted, but that is inevitable 
because of our limitations. The position and labors 
of Mr. and Mrs. Peck have already been briefly indi- 
cated. Eben Peck started overland to California 
when the gold fever spread over this western country, 
and it is supposed that he was slain by the Indians on 
the plains, but there is no record of his death, and it 
is claimed that he was heard from at a later date. 
His wife, a brave and able woman, has written many 
piquant papers, descriptive of pioneer life, in which 
her own experiences made her proficient. In her 
house the earliest visitors to Madison found a home, 
in her dining room the gayeties of several seasons 
found their earliest expression. Her husband as jus- 
tice of the peace united in the bonds of wedlock the 
first couple lawfully married in this city, and after 
the irrevocable knot had been tied, as we have seen, 
the violin of the justice's lady gladdened the hearts 
of the assembled throng while they threaded the 
mazes of the dance. In the old log house was born 
Miss Wisconsiana Victoria Peck, the first child that 
saw the light in this city, concerning whose christen- 
ing some particulars are given. Mrs. Peck and her 
husband were the pioneer settlers, and subsequently 
the lady became the first settler in Baraboo, where 
she still resides. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 61 

Mrs. Prosper Burgoyne Bird, formerly Miss 
Hewitt, another of our pioneers, came of good revolu- 
tionary stock, and was one of the most valued of our 
early residents. Her husband built a house for her 
in this city, while she remained in Milwaukee. There 
was only one house in Janesville when the lady came 
through to her destination. The party had seen 
enough of pioneer life to have discouraged most 
people, before they left Milwaukee. While they 
were neighbors of " Old Solomo," as the Indians al- 
ways called Col. Juneau, they witnessed an election, 
in which the principal argument used in favor of the 
successful ticket was a dipper placed in a barrel of 
whisky, by the founder of the Cream City. The po- 
tency of such logic was manifested in the fact that a 
sober man could hardly be found in the settlement at 
the close of the dav. The first boat launched on Lake 
Michigan, "The Juneau," kissed the water while 
Mrs. Bird was remaining in Milwaukee. The party 
set out on their road altogether, but at the last mo- 
ment Mr. Bird, having business to transact on account 
of the capitol, for the building of which his brother was 
acting commissioner, returned to the village, leaving 
his courageous wife to prosecute the journey without 
his guidance, until sundown the following day. The 
ferryman at Janesville was not at home, so the little 
band went round by Beloit, where there were two 
log houses, one on each side of the river. The home 
provided for their accommodation was an uninclosed 
frame building, on the street now known as Webster 



62 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

street, on lot eight, and the building was not com 
jdeted until April, 1838. During part of the inter- 
val, Mrs. Bird resided in a log house on the site 
where Kentzler's livery stable now stands, and after- 
wards moved into the old log; boarding house near 
Mr. Pyncheon's residence. There were, when Mrs. 
Bird arrived in the village, only four log houses; 
that built for Mr. Catlin, and partly consumed 
by tire; that occupied by Mrs. Peck, and known 
long after as the Madison House; the residence of 
Mr. Stoner, already mentioned; and one other of 
less note. Such an addition to the village was im- 
portant. 

The workmen engaged upon the capitol- boarded 
with the newly arrived housekeeper, and there were 
rough times and hard work for all hands when she 
began her pioneer experience in this locality. In 
Mrs. Bird's mother's home the first death in the new 
settlement occurred from typhoid fever, and the second 
happened from her own house haying been struck by 
lightning, The cemetery then in use forms now a 
part of the university grounds. The Bird family 
was one of the most numerous and energetic among 
the pioneers, but a volume would be required to re- 
cord their several fortunes and adventures. 

Col. Wm. B. Slaughter, whose eloquence is still the 
pride of his fellow townsmen, was born in 1797, in 
Culpepper county, Virginia, and came to reside in 
Green Bay in 1835, where he was appointed register 
of the land office. While serving as a member of the 



IIISTOKY OF MADISON. 63 

legislative council of Michigan, winch assembled at 
Green Bay in the winter of that year, he initiated the 
memorial for the organization of Wisconsin. About 
the same date, he entered the lot held by St. Cyr, near 
this city, and gave the half-breed $200 for his im- 
provements. When the capital was located, he made 
his residence where the City of the Four Lakes was 
platted by M. L. Martin, Judge Doty and himself, 
and continued a resident until 1845, when Virginia 
attracted him to his old home. On the commence- 
ment of the war, the colonel was appointed commis- 
sary and quarter-master by the president; and now, 
nearly eighty years of age, he is one of the most 
active and intellectual of the residents in this city. 
There are but few men to be found who, from their 
personal experience, know more about Madison from 
the beginning. Soon after the capitol was commenced, 
and when Commissioner Bird's residence was small 
and cold, Sheriff Childs from Green Bav mentions a 
visit to Col. Wm. B. Slaughter's, on the west bank of 
the Fourth Lake, near Pheasant Branch. Lung before 
this time, all the land business of the territory had 
passed through the colonel's hands at Green Bay. 
When the location of the capital was under debate, 
and long before it came to the vote, Col. Slaughter 
made arrangements with St. Cyr, under which the 
half-breed enabled the colonel to enter the tract in 
the summer or autumn of 1835, and he subsecmently 
conveyed an interest to Judge Doty, with the hope 
that the capital would be there located. The arrange- 



61 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

ment witli Gov. Mason of Michigan, and the purchase 
of the peninsula for $1,500, wrecked Col. Slaughter's 
project, seeing that he was absent in the south while 
the session was being held at Belmont, upon which 
the location turned. Sheriff Childs, already men- 
tioned, says that the votes which determined the mat- 
ter were those cast by representatives who knew that 
their several localities would be erected into a distinct 
territory soon afterwards. Iowa had six councilmen 
and representatives, so that the influence of the out- 
siders really determined the issue, and the country 
west of the Mississippi was separately organized with 
little delay. Childs says that the town plat of Madi- 
son was divided into twenty shares, and that he was 
offered one share for $200, apparently with the hope 
that he would in that way be induced to vote for the 
location. His Roman virtue was equal to the emer- 
gency, and Green Bay was pleased with the course 
taken by him. Col. Slaughter's site had been very 
wisely chosen, upon the historical ground where Gen. 
Dodge held his " talk" with the Winnebagoes, when 
the Black Hawk war had begun, and after Stillman 
had sustained his defeat. 

Josiali A. Koonan did not come to our territory 
until the year 1837, and in 1810, removed to Milwau- 
kee, whence, still later, he migrated to Chicago to 
take charge of the Industrial Age; but as the 
founder of the first newspaper issued in this city, the 
Wisconsin Enquirer, he must have a place among 
our pioneers. The first press and printing materials 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 65 

bought for this enterprise, "were thrown overboard, off 
Mackinaw, in Lake Huron, in a storm, on the voyage 
from Buffalo to Green Bay, and in consequence the 
Racine Argus, with its material, was purchased 
and removed, to do duty in the capital. The paper 
was published on King street, in a room over the 
commissioners' store, and eventually some of the 
ablest journalists in the state were identified with its 
career. C. C. Sholes became a partner in the paper 
in 1839, as is elsewhere mentioned, and it lived until 
June, 1843, taking an active part in all public affairs 
until its death. Judge Knapp was for some time its 
editor. That gentleman has left on record a brief 
description of the Fourth of July celebration in 1839, 
and according to his winged words, there was no lack 
of spirit among the celebrants. There was an oration, 
and the declaration in proper order, but a liberal sup- 
ply of "Pecatonica" and "Bock River," the latter a 
peculiarly strong water, with an orchestra consisting 
of two violins and a flute, filled every soul with mar- 
tial music. A fat steer which had been brought to 
grace the tables of the citizens on the Fourth, was 
forgotten until three days later, when the keg was 
empty, and there was then but little superfluous fat 
upon the bones of the delayed sacrifice. It must not 
be supposed that all the citizens were affected by " old 
rye," but the carrier, who had brought the steer, had 
kept the secret of its whereabouts, until his senses 
were sobered by the emptying of the keg. 
Abel Rasdall cannot be utterly omitted from a 
5 



6Q HISTORY OF MADISON. 

record of our pioneers ; his bravery during the troubles 
and his good faith at all times, entitle him to be men- 
tioned, but he has been referred to at large in the first 
chapter, as will be remembered. 

The schoolmaster was in request, but the number 
of pupils was not great. Mr. Edgar S. Searle taught 
school in the summer of 1839, and was followed by 
Mr. E. M. "Williamson, mentioned among our pio- 
neers, who had six pupils. Mr. "Williamson taught 
at the corner of Pinckney and Dayton streets, one 
term, in a very primitive building. In the winter of 
1842-3, Mr. Theodore Conkey also taught. Miss 
Pierce was at the same time engaged in the tui- 
tion of girls in an old building near the spot where 
Dean's block is now standing. Another step in the 
same direction, aiming at the improvement of adults, 
was an association for church purposes, entered into 
in July, 1839. The instrument of association indi- 
cated the establishment of a parish of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church as the object of the members. 
There were sixteen signatures to the document. The 
first Sunday school was also started about this time 
and conducted by Rev. Mr. Clark, Presbyterian 
clergyman. It was held in the capitol. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. G7 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE STATE UNIVEESITY. 

The example set by the Pilgrim Fathers in 1636, 
in preparing for the foundation of Harvard, less than 
sixteen years after their landing on this continent, has 
been fruitful in suggesting like works all over the 
Union. An endowment of public lands for a sem- 
inary in Wisconsin was provided by an act of con- 
gress which was approved on the the 12th of June, 
1838. The land thus given amounted to 46,080 acres. 
Prior to the passage of the congressional act, and an- 
ticipating its provisions, the territorial legislature, in 
January, 1838, prepared to incorporate the University 
with all the powers and limitations common to such 
institutions. 

The first quorum of the board of visitors stands on 
record as having met pursuant to adjournment, Decem- 
ber 1, 1838, when Henry L. Dodge and John Catlin 
were chosen treasurer and secretary. Col. Slaughter 
was one of the most active members, and the requisite 
steps devolving upon the board were fulfilled. Re- 
gents were appointed, and an act was passed specifi- 
cally incorporating the University, immediately after 
the inauguration of the state government, in 1848. 

The first board consisted of John Bannister, Hirtim 



68 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

Barber, Alex. L. Collins, Julius T. Clark, Henry 
Bryan, Edw. Y. Whiton, John H. Rountree, Eleazer 
Root, Simeon Mills, Bufus King, Tlios. W. Suther- 
land and Cyrus "Woodman. Four of the members 
were nominated for six years, and the others were ap- 
pointed, four for four years and four for two only; 
their successors thereafter to hold office for six years. 
Part of the land of the University was purchased from 
Mr. Aaron Vanderpool of New York, on the 17th of 
October, 1848, subject to the approval of the legisla- 
ture; and a building in the village of Madison, erected 
as a private venture for the purposes of an academy, 
having been tendered to the regents, rent free, by the 
citizens, it was determined to open the " department 
of science, literature, and the arts," by means of a 
preparatory school, on the first Monday in February, 
1849, under the superintendence of Prof. John ~W. 
Sterling. The next step was the election of John H. 
Lathrop, LL. D., as chancellor of the University, at a 
salary not to exceed $2,000. The preparatory school 
was opened at the time named, with twenty pupils 
under Professor Sterling and Chancellor Lathrop. 
The cabinet of natural history was formed by Horace 
A. Tenney, who rendered his services as agent free of 
cost, and gave excellent aid to the institution at all 
times. 

The formal inauguration of the chancellor took 
place on the 16th of January, 1850, and buildings 
were erected, the north dormitory in the following 
year and the south dormitory in 1854, from the in- 



HISTORY OF MADIS03ST. 69 

come of the University fund. In the same year the 
first class, consisting of Levi M. Booth and Chas. T. 
"Wakeley, graduated. 

The intention of congress in granting a liberal en- 
dowment of public lands to the University was to a 
great extent defeated by manipulations in the legis- 
lature, under which the lands were appraised at very 
inadequate prices, and so passed into the hands of 
speculators and others, who became the recipients of 
advantages which should permanently have assisted 
the intellectual culture of the community. Under 
such injurious action on the part of honorable mem- 
bers, some of the best lands in the state were pre- 
empted, or otherwise obtained, at less than one-fourth 
of their actual value, and the authorities of the Uni- 
versity were powerless to defend the interests entrust- 
ed to their charge. The fund necessary for Univer- 
sity purposes being thus rendered inadequate, con- 
gress was once more approached, and mainly in con- 
sequence of the exertions of Gen. Simeon Mills, a 
further grant of seventy-two sections was obtained. Mr. 
Tenney, already favorably known by his services, se- 
lected the lands thus given for the purposes of learn- 
ing. The selections made by Mr. -Tenney were among 
the choicest lands in the state, and although there was 
some delay in reporting them at Washington, in con- 
sequence of which private parties procured many of 
the best, other lands fully equal were eventually pro- 
cured. Once more the legislature using its powers 
defeated the express design of the endowment, by ap- 



70 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

praising tlie picked lands of the state at $3.00 per 
acre, reducing a property which was well worth 
$500,000 to a selling value of only $138,240. Even 
then the designs of the manipulators were not ex- 
hausted, as it was found that by pushing the lands into 
sale by auction, away from the centers of population, 
still lower prices could be made to rule, and yet the 
representations made by the institution were without 
avail. Even worse, during the summer session of 1854 
a bill was hurried through one house, and came very 
near passing the other, under which all the lands 
sold, and to be sold, in the interests of the State Uni- 
versity, some of which ranged as high as $30.00 per 
acre in value in open market, should be subject to 
patent at $1.25, and that all moneys already paid in 
excess of that amount should be refunded. A propo- 
sition more shameful was never submitted to a legis- 
lature; but Mr. Tenney, then reporting in the house, 
and a number of members acting with him, by whom 
he was called upon for a statement, only succeeded in 
defeating the nefarious project by two votes. Two 
purposes were served by the members who voted for 
the despoilment of the University: one, the enrich- 
ment of individual speculators, and the other and 
more justifiable design was the encouragement of 
immigration. Precisely similar tactics were pursued 
when the Agricultural College act was passed by 
congress in 1862; but no good purpose can be served 
by recapitulating discreditable details. The Regents 
of the University faithfully discharged their duties 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 71 

in the premises, and at length, in 1872, procured the 
passage of an act granting from the state a sum of 
$10,000 per annum, as compensation to the Univer- 
sity. That amount was not an equivalent for the loss, 
but it was something to have procured a recognition 
of the principle, that the lands granted by the federal 
government for purposes of education, should not have 
been sacrificed in pursuance of personal gain, or in 
carrying out schemes to promote immigration, in the 
lower interests of the territory and state. 

The legislature acted for some considerable time 
as though the funds accruing from the sales of land 
granted for the University by congress were, in fact, 
taxes levied upon the state, and in consequence there 
were dark days and great causes for discontent among 
the promoters of learning in this city; but thanks to 
a more enlightened spirit which now prevails among 
the directors of the press of the state, and in the main, 
among the people at large, a better understanding has 
been reached. The fact that the University was doing 
its best under the disadvantages incidental to want 
of funds, during the dark and troubled times, is now 
admitted on all hands; and it is too apparent to re- 
quire comment, that the cause of that poverty con- 
sisted in the breach of trust of which legislators were 
guilty. A bill aiming at the reorganization of the 
University was introduced, and came near passing 
both houses of the legislature in 1858. The chan- 
cellor of the institution, taking up the leading ideas 
of that measure, carried out most of the proposed al- 



72 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

terations during the same year, with the concurrence 
of the board of regents. Chancellor Lathrop sug- 
gested the several changes apparently demanded by 
the public, and in pursuance of the change, resigned 
his position as chancellor, which was afterwards filled 
by Henry Barnard, LL. D., who united therewith the 
duties of professor of normal instruction. Chancellor 
Lathrop was elected professor of ethical and political 
science, but he subsequently resigned his office, and 
was reelected to the position he had previously filled 
as president of the University of Missouri. Beyond 
doubt, that gentleman fell a sacrifice 'to circum- 
stances not properly chargeable to himself; but his 
retirement, and the change of administration conse- 
quent thereupon, permitted the complete establish- 
ment of a good understanding between the people 
and their most valuable institution. The new scheme 
originated by the retiring chancellor was, in effect, a 
full recognition of the right of the people to control 
the University, and it devolved upon them the fullest 
share of responsibility. 

Chancellor Barnard was unable to attend to the 
duties to which he had been called, thus the scheme 
which was to have united the University with the 
normal school system of the state failed completely. 
Eventually, in consequence of continued ill health, his 
resignation was accepted in January, 1861. The civil 
war, and the stress upon every department of the state, 
joined to the diminution of the number of students, 
rendered a reduction of expenditures inevitable. Pro! 



HISTORY OF MADISOS". 73 

Jolm "W. Sterling was made deau of the faculty, with 
the powers of chancellor, and schemes of retrenchment 
were adopted which enabled the University to continue 
its operations, without asking aid from the legislature, 
during the war. The University was largely repre- 
sented in the army, and a military company was 
formed among the students, which has eventuated in 
the establishment of a military department, giving 
effect to an excellent suggestion made to the re- 
gents by the faculty. The drill undertaken to secure 
military efficiency has conferred mental as well as 
physical vigor. In the year 1864, all the class was in 
the field, and for the first time during ten years, there 
was no commencement. 

A normal department was opened in 1863, under 
the care of Prof. C. H. Allen, and the result was in every 
way satisfactory. The apprehension commonly ex- 
pressed, that the introduction of ladies would lower the 
standard of culture, has been proved groundless. Prof. 
Pickard succeeded to the control of that department 
in 1866, when the "female college" was established, 
which continued until 1873, since which time all de- 
partments of the University have very properly been 
thrown open to both sexes, without those invidious 
distinctions, which too long have evidenced the want 
of genuine culture among men. 

Gifts made to the institution by generous citizens, 
have done much to increase its efficiency. Gov. Jas. 
T. Lewis made a donation to enable the board of 
regents to bestow an annual prize. The amount was 



74 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

only $200, but the regents having invested the fund, 
were enabled in June, 1874, to offer a prize of $20, 
which sum is to be awarded every year, under the 
name of " the Lewis prize," to the writer of the best 
essay, received in the competition of that year. The 
Scandinavian library, known as u Mimers library," 
was a contribution from private individuals in 1868, 
through the agency of Prof. B,. B. Anderson. The col- 
lection now aggregates about one thousand volumes of 
Scandinavian literature, and its value can hardly be 
stated. The world-famous Ole Bull was induced by 
Mr. Anderson to increase the library fund by giving 
a concert in the assembly chamber, and the sum thus 
obtained was very advantageously expended in Nor- 
way by the professor, who made a voyage thither in 
1872 for the purpose, and procured at the same time 
valuable contributions from some of the ablest pro- 
fessors and most distinguished Norwegian scholars. 
The books obtained by the several means indicated 
render the Scandinavian library one o'f the best in the 
United States. The " Johnson student's aid fund " 
was in part due to the same agency. The sum given 
by the Hon. John A. Johnson, some time senator for 
this district, is $5,000, the interest of which is to be 
applied from the time of the donation, 1876, until the 
end of the present century, to assist indigent Scandi- 
navian students, with sums not to exceed $50 per an- 
num in any individual case, nor to aggregate more 
than $200 in the aid afforded to one person; with this 
further proviso, that in every case the student assisted 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 77 



shall understand that the advance is a loan, and not a 
gift, and that whenever it may be in his power, he 
shall be expected to repay the sum to the fund, to in- 
crease its efficiency for future operations. On and 
after the end of this century the fund will be available 
for all students, irrespective of nationality, on pre- 
cisely similar terms. Clearly, the object of the donor 
is to break down whatever barriers may at present ex- 
ist, to the complete unification of the Norse element 
in our population with the great body of the people, 
made up of all the nations of the world. It would be 
difficult to imagine a form in which enlightened mu- 
nificence can more elegantly express itself, than by 
such contributions to the improvement of the State 
University, and it is gratifying to observe that other 
persons are preparing to follow in the path thus nobly 
indicated. Most of the universities and scholastic in- 
stitutions in Europe have been enriched by just such 
acts of individual munificence, generally by way of 
bequests, taking effect upon the death of the donor. 
The state bestowed upon the University the building 
which had been occupied as the soldiers' orphans 
home, with the intention that it should be used as the 
location for a medical school or department; but for 
many reasons it was found inexpedient to carry out 
that design, and the regents having memorialized 
the legislature to that effect, have been permitted to 
sell the structure and grounds for $18,000. The Nor- 
wegians, who have made the purchase, will establish 
an academy and theological seminary in the building, 



78 HISTOET OF MADISON. 

which will thus become a considerable addition to the 
educational facilities in Madison. 

Returning now from a prolonged digression on the 
subject of gifts, to resume the narrative temporarily 
broken, we may say, that in June, 1865, the war 
having come to an end, it was thought advisable to 
reorganize the State University, but in consequence 
of an offer of the chancellorship having been declined, 
Prof. Sterling continued in his position until the 
following year. The increase of students and the 
improving aspect of affairs generally, so far as the 
University was concerned, led to a reconstruction, 
which was aided by a vacation of all the chairs in 
1866, whereupon Pres. Paul A. Chadbourne was called 
to the management of the University from the agricul- 
tural college of Massachusetts. Prof. Sterling alone, 
of all the old faculty, was retained and reelected. 

The change made in 1866 entitled the Universitv 
to the advantages accruing under the act of congress, 
which granted lands for agricultural colleges. The 
alterations necessary were embodied in an act, which 
was approved on the 12th of April, 1866, and there- 
upon the county of Dane issued bonds to the amount of 
§10,000 for the purchase of lands for an experimental 
farm contiguous to the university grounds. The 
requisite funds were provided and the farm procured, 
but two professors in turn declined the nomination 
as president, and the members of the old faculty were 
recalled for another year. After certain amendments 
had been made in the regulations, as to the several 



HISTORY OF MADISON". 79 

departments being open to both sexes on precisely 
similar terms, Prof. Chadbourne accepted the presi- 
dency in 1867, and the work of reconstruction pro- 
ceeded. 

Since that time, the state has pursued a more liberal 
and enlightened policy towards the University. The 
educational power of the institution has been felt in 
the community, in the presence and force of men 
trained therein, or in kindred establishments, and now 
editing the leading journals of the state, or filling 
other responsible representative positions. The sec- 
retary of state, in his report for 1866, recognized the 
fact, that Wisconsin had not appropriated one dollar 
toward the support of the University, but had absorbed 
from the endowment given by the general govern- 
ment, sums aggregating more than $10,000, in the 
form of charges for taking care of the lands, besides 
reducing the value of the property in question, so 
that the fund arising from the interest had decreased 
$7,000 per annum in less than two years. The action 
of Dane county in affording substantial help was 
speedily followed by compensatory measures in the 
legislature. In the year 1867, an appropriation of 
$7,303.76 per annum was made for a term of ten 
years, and it was supposed that a like amount would 
be granted in perpetuity as an act of simple justice; 
but, as will be seen, a much more generous arrange- 
ment has been effected. The charge unwisely levied 
by the state upon the University, property for taking 
care of its lands, was at the same time abandoned. 



80 HISTOKY OF MADISON". 

Three years later, in 1870, a sum of $50,000 was 
appropriated to erect a female college, that being the 
first sum actually granted by Wisconsin in aid of her 
own University. In the year 1875, upon proper repre- 
sentations as to the necessity for additional buildings, 
the legislature appropriated $S0,000 to enable the 
regents to proceed with the erection of Science Hall, 
which is now fully complete; and still later, in the 
winter of 1876, an act has been passed repealing 
all other measures of appropriation touching the 
revenues of the institution, and giving, by way of 
liberal acquittance for every error in the past, an 
annual tax of one-tenth of a mill on the dollar, on the 
valuation of the state, upon the condition, that from 
and after July, 1876, all tuition shall be free to every 
citizen of Wisconsin. The line of policy thus indi- 
cated, places the State University on a sound basis, 
and will not fail to establish the character of our 
people thoughout the union. The struggle for life 
has ended, and the munificence of the legislature, 
expressing the will of the community, will materially 
aid in developing the resources of the state. The line 
of conduct pursued in the beginning was an aberra- 
tion, such as we are not likely to see repeated. 

A desire to narrate in the proper order, and in a 
connected way, the several items of financial policy 
which, since 1866, have characterized the legislature, 
has led to a deviation from the straight course in de- 
scribing the steps by which the regents and the faculty 
have discharged their duties; but allowances can be 



HISTOKY OF MADISON". 81 

made for that offense in the presence of such ad- 
mirable provocation. There will be no further need 
to break the continuity of the narrative. 

The University has now a department of engineer- 
ing and military tactics, to ' which has been added a 
department of civil and mechanical engineering and 
military science. Mining, metallurgy and engineer- 
ing as connected with mines, have also received atten- 
tion; and the department of agriculture, a branch 
of training second to none in importance, is very 
slowly advancing in appreciation as well among the 
people as in the minds of the regents. Efforts have 
been made to render this branch of education effective, 
but up to the present time there have been no agricul- 
tural students. The Law Department, under the able 
Dean of the Faculty, Prof. J. H. Carpenter, aided by 
the best authorities in the state, deserves the very 
highest encomiums. 

President Chadbourne's labors, under the recon- 
structed board, and the better tone of public opinion, 
gave an impetus to educational effort. The University 
became more worthy of support, a better exponent of 
scientific culture; and the leading minds in the com- 
munity recognized its higher usefulness. The in- 
crease of students consequent upon those improve- 
ments, rendered additional buildings necessary, and 
the want has been in part supplied, but the require- 
ments of the institutioii will continue to increase 
with the growing importance of the community. 
There cannot be finality in supplying the wants of an 



82 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

intellectual people whose numbers and demands in 
tlie realm of knowledge are daily expanding. Already 
there are murmurs because of the want of an ob- 
servatory and astronomical instruments. There can 
be no question that these requirements will be sup- 
plied. 

President Chadbourne was obliged to retire in con- 
sequence of ill health in 1870, and his place was tem- 
porarily supplied by Yice President Sterling, during 
whose incumbency, at first as a matter of necessity, 
and afterwards as a matter of principle, young women 
were admitted to recite with any of the classes. The 
change has proved beneficial. President Twombly, 
D. D., was elected in 1871, and continued in office 
until 1874, when President Bascom, LL. D., D. D., 
was called to the work. Under the two officers last 
named in succession, but more especially under Presi- 
dent Bascom, the institution has grown in usefulness 
and in public favor, and there is no reason to doubt 
that the good understanding, fully established, will 
be maintained. 

The income of the University from all sources, now 
amounts to about $80,000 per annum, and with the 
growth of the state generally, the prosperity of the 
institution will steadily keep pace. Henceforth there 
will be no reason why every young man and young 
woman in AVisconsin, having an ambition to possess 
the advantages of complete training, should not culti- 
vate the powers with which God has blessed them, in 
the development of their intellectual faculties. 



HISTORY OF MADISOK. S3 



CIIAPTEK Y. 

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

The state library dates from the earliest clays of our 
existence as a territorial government, the first pur- 
chase of books having been made in 1837, since 
which time the collection has been largely increased. 
The State Historical Society was organized on the 
30th of January, 1849, and its treasures now com- 
prise by far the best collection of materials for north- 
western history that can be found anywhere in this 
western country. There was at one time a superior 
collection in Chicago, but the great fire unfortunately 
destroyed that, among other priceless treasures. The 
organization of the society was suggested in the 
Mineral Point Democrat of October 22, 1845, by 
Chauncy C. Britt, but notwithstanding the support 
given to the project by the whole of the press, it was 
not found possible to carry it into effect until the 
date mentioned, more than three years later. Even 
then it was not a vigorous existence, upon which the 
association entered. Events called off the attention 
of some, sickness and misfortune impeded others, 
and the act of incorporation was not procured until 
March, 1853, when there were not fifty volumes in the 
library. In the month of January following, a com- 



84 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

plete reorganization having been effected, a vote of 
$500 per annum was subsequently procured from the 
legislature to assist in attaining the objects aimed at 
by the promoters ; and the first annual report for the 
year 1854 showed very considerable progress. There 
were already more than one thousand volumes in the 
library and promises of assistance and cooperation 
had been received from numerous societies on this 
continent and in Europe, as well as from American 
authors whose names are to-day more honorable to 
the nation than our material riches. Collections of 
autographs, portraits, and life sized pictures had al- 
ready been commenced, including mementoes of our 
worthiest men, and those lines of effort have been 
persevered in with great success to the present time, 
until the gallery of the Historical Society has become 
singularly complete. With the report for 1854 were 
presented many valuable and interesting documents 
forming parts of the contemporary and more remote 
history of the northwest, in a striking way illus- 
trating the importance of the society. One paper was 
a translation from the French, setting forth the policy 
which the soldiery of that nation should pursue to- 
ward the Chippewas and Foxes; another an English 
record of the days when the British forces had taken 
possession of Green Bay and other frontier posts, 
soon after the reduction of Canada by the English, 
and a very interesting appendix consisted of Jas. W. 
Biddle's recollections of Green Bay in 1816-17, about 
the time that this country really passed under Amer- 



HISTORY OF MADISOX. 85 

ican rule. The discriminating reader is of course 
aware that although the British should have surren- 
dered this country in 1783, there were excuses made 
for the retention of Detroit and other posts until 
Jay's treaty was made, and that even after that date 
it was not until the end of the war of 1812 that the 
English authorities abandoned their manipulations 
with the Indians in this territory. The conduct of 
the Chippewas in hoisting the English flag at Sault 
Ste Marie in 1820, and defying Gov. Cass, was an 
event of still later occurrence, and the courage with 
which the old General tore down the insolent bunting, 
in the face of the Indians, won for him honest ad- 
miration. James Duane Doty, who was then travel 
ing in the suite of Gov. Cass, assisted in hoisting the 
Union colors, and thereby increased his favor with 
the governor of Michigan. The drain on the material 
resources of England, caused by long continued wars 
against Napoleon, ended by the banishment of that 
ruler to St. Helena in 1815-16, made it inexpedient 
for the nation to continue its system of annuities to 
Tomah and the Menomonees, as well as to other In- 
dian allies. The change was announced in 1817, and 
Mr. Biddle's recollections embrace that period and 
event, as well as much other matter that deserves re- 
capitulation. The customs of Green Bay as to lim- 
ited marriages, and transfers of marital engagements, 
among the voyageurs, fur traders and their semi In- 
dian squaws, read like the records of South Sea 
Island life, with a few business like variations. There 



86 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

had not been a priest in Green Bay for some time, 
and Judge Reaume, whose commission was said to 
have been given by Gen. Harrison, or earlier by the 
British, was for many years the only justice. Nobody 
could say when his authority first claimed recognition, 
but on the other hand nobody presumed to question 
its potency. "The Judge's old jack knife," sent by 
the constable, was a sufficient summons for any real 
or assumed offender, and the judgment of the bench 
could be influenced by a present, so that in one respect 
he resembled Lord Chancellor Bacon; but like the 
more celebrated man last mentioned, he was not with- 
out many excellent points, and his usefulness was be- 
yond question. Gov. Cass recognized the substantial 
worth of Judge Reaume and gave him an appoint- 
ment as associate justice, toward the end of his 
career, after the organization of the territory of Mich- 
igan. 

The state will not readily comprehend how much is 
due to the labors of the Historical Society, and to its 
corresponding secretary, Lyman C. Draper, in the 
procurement and preservation of the treasures amassed 
by the society; but the Union and the reading world 
will some day recognize their worth, and this city can- 
not fail to reap honor in having been the birthplace 
of the institution. 

Col. "Whittlesey's "Tour Through "Wisconsin in 
1832," written in 1838, gives a vivid and life-like 
description of the Black Hawk War, but our space 
will not allow of such extracts as might be desired, 



i>i'V 



'll 










Hon. Lyman C. Dkaper. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 89 

and it is to be hoped tliat some person favored by the 
society, will embody in a few volumes the choicer mat- 
ter in its priceless collection. For the present it is 
impossible even to enumerate the contributions that 
lie before us, and it is necessary, to confine ourselves 
to a bare mention of only a few of the chief items of 
interest. Major H. A. Tenney, whose services to the 
community in many ways have been beyond praise, 
has given an admirable precis of "Early Times in 
Wisconsin," written in this city in 1849, after he had 
succeeded in buttonholing Col. Brigham, and had 
collated the information thus obtained, with knowl- 
edge from innumerable other sources. The first settler 
in Dane county was not inclined to write his recollec- 
tions, but in his manly and genial way he was 
induced to talk of his early experiences, and currente 
calamo, Major Tenney converted his veracious words 
into history, which must always be the foundation of 
"Wisconsin's records. 

The second annual report showed that the Histori- 
cal Society had increased its store by 1,065 volumes 
during the year 1855, and that in every other respect 
it was growing in usefulness, with experience. The 
picture gallery then consisted of twenty-five paintings, 
besides which the likenesses of numbers of local and 
national celebrities had been promised as additions to 
the collection. ]STo less than forty-seven portraits, 
chiefly of pioneers and friends of Wisconsin, had then 
been engaged, nearly all of which were afterwards 
supplied. We are almost entirely at a loss in general 



90 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

lii story, when we attempt to recall the features of 
thousands of men and women with whose deeds the 
world may be said to be familiar, yet " the counter- 
feit presentment" is often the best commentary upon 
the actual career of a person. Could we only be sure 
as to which of the several pictures, busts and casts, 
said to have been made at various times and places, 
of the player and poet, William Shakspere, was really 
taken from his features, in life or in death, it would 
be much easier to pronounce upon the question 
whether the wool-comber's son, who married Anne 
Hathaway, was truly the writer of the plays and son- 
nets that bear his name, or only the stalking horse of 
a still greater personage, the founder of our modern 
system of investigation. The pictures then in the gal- 
lery of the society were particularized, and where pos- 
sible and necessary, as in the case of Black Hawk, the 
prophet, and in other such, certified to by the then 
librarian, Prof. S. H. Carpenter, in an excellent report 
on his particular branch of the society's possessions. 
The library has gone on increasing in every feature 
with accelerating rapidity every year, so that in 1S57 
the volumes aggregated 3,122, exclusive of pamphlets 
and unbound newspapers; in the year following, 4,146; 
in 1862 there were 14,400 volumes ; in 1866, when the 
change was made from the basement of the Baptist 
Church to the suite of rooms in the capitol now occu- 
pied, there were 21,000 volumes and documents; in 
1868, the Tank Library donation added 4,812 volumes, 
and the number of books, bound and unbound, had 



TIISTORY OF MADISON. 01 

increased to 31,505, which in 1872, when the last pub- 
lication appeared, showed a total of 50,530. The sup- 
plementary catalogue, in August, 1875, showed a fur- 
ther expansion to 65,000, and the gratifying increment 
goes on with continuous energy. 

There are now in the galleries more than one hun- 
dred oil paintings of noteworthy men, a feature of 
surpassing value. The cabinet of pre-hrstoric relics 
contains nearly ten thousand specimens of the tools, 
ornaments and weapons of the stone age, in many re- 
spects second to none in the world. The copper era 
is illustrated by even a still more valuable collection, 
which has latterly been transferred to the Centennial 
Exposition in Philadelphia, an assemblage of celts, 
spearheads and knives, in unalloyed copper, such as all 
Europe cannot equal. The maps and other valuables 
which are preserved in this institution would alone 
repay all the outlay that the state has incurred in sup- 
porting the invaluable movement, with which it is an 
honor to have been associated, as even the humblest 
pains-taking assistant. 

The Tank collection above mentioned deserves more 
detailed notice. One of the earliest pioneers in Wis- 
consin was Otto Tank, whose widow, the daughter of 
a clergyman in Zeist, in Holland, inherited from her 
father his exceedingly choice collection of works, 
amounting to more than 5,000, inclusive of pamphlets, 
and this great treasure was by Mrs. Tank freely given 
to the State Historical Society, the cost of removal 
from Holland to this country being covered by a legis- 



92 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

lative appropriation. In tlie next year a full set of 
Patent Office Reports, which cost the donors no less 
than $12,500 gold, and which covers the whole range 
of invention since the year 1617, the year following 
the deaths of Shakspere and Cervantes, were presented 
to the Historical Society by the British government, 
through the intervention of the Hon. Charles Francis 
Adams, late minister to the court of St. James. The 
favor thus conferred does not end with the donation 
named, as the society will continue to receive the 
series of publications from the Patent Office in Lon- 
don, at the rate of about one hundred volumes per 
year, and thus the inventive genius of this state will 
continue to be stimulated by the opportunity at all 
times to inspect what has been accomplished and at- 
tempted, and what is still within the range of tenta- 
tive effort among our brethren on the other side of 
the Atlantic. Like donations may be expected from 
every other European government, when the purposes 
of the institution are made known in the proper 
cpmrters. 

To continue such an enumeration would prove tedi- 
ous to the average reader, and in consequence, we refer 
our friends for more complete details to the reports 
and catalogues of the society, and the rooms in the 
state capitol, which already are too small to do justice 
to an alwavs increasing literary, archaic and artistic 
treasure. Mr. Draper has proved himself, in an excep- 
tional degree, " the right man in the right place," one 
of those whose deeds will live after them, and to him 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 93 

more than to any other individual, the state and this 
City owe the wonderful growth which we have utterly 
failed to chronicle according to its merits. Those who 
have been associated with him best know his peculiar 
fitness for the task to which his life has been devoted, 
and none of them will grudge the patient and modest 
worker the credit to which he is honestly entitled. 
His name has been the open sesame to numerous col- 
lections, and to innumerable pockets, from which the 
resources of the society have been enriched, and his 
zeal has contributed to induce the legislature to assist 
the movement by ajDpropriations which, without great 
economy, must still have been wholly inadequate, 
while his example has induced hundreds to become 
willing laborers in the good cause. 

Before us, on the desk, lie the volumes of Halli- 
well's Shakspere, a costly and rare luxury, originally 
published at $800 per copy, beyond our reach in any 
other w T ay. The Historical Society enables us to see 
all that is known about the man with whom the 
greatest treasure of poetry on this earth is associated. 
Here are fao similes of his writing, and of his fath- 
er's mark. The deeds and acquittances, and unhap- 
pily, also the writs, which tell of the poverty that 
fell upon the poet's home. Here are figured, as 
though in A r ery fact, the original documents as they 
were presented to his eyes, letters and memoranda in 
which Shakspere and his immediate surroundings 
moved, in their daily lives. 



94 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

The state library has been already named, as its 
chronological right demanded, seeing that it came 
into being before the capitol was planned. Apart 
from that feature, it is of great merit as a law library, 
hardly second to any in the west, and the complete- 
ness of the collection long since suggested to the 
managers the transfer of all its miscellaneous works 
to the shelves of the Historical Society. The cour- 
tesy of the librarian, the perfect order prevailing in 
the department, and the extensive as well as excellent 
assortment of . works, combine to render the state 
library, in every sense, an honor to its promoters and 
to this city. The location occupied by this depart- 
ment in the capitol, adjoining the supreme court and 
the chambers of the legislature, renders it easy of 
access to all who are concerned in its advantages. 

The city library, in City Hall, and the library at 
the University, deserve more lengthened notice than 
our space will permit, seeing that the witchery of 
books would infallibly cause an overrunning of our 
limits, " contrary to the statute thereunto made and 
provided." Before ending this chapter, it becomes 
our imperative, as well as our pleasant duty, to ac- 
knowledge the manifold kindnesses of Librarian D. 
S. Durrie, whose own labors as a writer have made 
him apt to render aid to every one toiling with pen 
or pencil. His merits need no eulogy, but this word 
of recognition is due to ourselves. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 95 



CHAPTER VII. 

CHURCHES AND PASTOES. 

The supposed first attempt at church organization 
was named in our pioneer sketches. Many similar 
works followed. Any preacher was welcomed in Mr. 
Ream's, Madison House. Bishop Kemper was a 
visitor there, and Father Quaw, from Canada. Col. 
Slaughter and Mr. Ream were vestrymen. The last 
named gentleman was in request as a singer, when 
services were held hy any denomination. Rev. ~W. 
Philo was the minister of the " Apostolic Church ' : 
for twelve months. " Dominie Philo " was senti- 
mental in his references to the other sex, and that fact 
provoked laughter, but, on the whole, he was much 
respected. When Mr. Toots in " Dombey and Son," 
was crossed in love, he told Miss Dombey, " It's not of 
the slightest consequence." It was otherwise with 
Mr. Philo. There was no Susan Nipper to give him 
consolation. He took to it kindly, and became senti- 
mental. Probably some eastern belle had declined to 
share his missionary privations, and he knew that 
" the course of true love never did run smooth." 
There was a donation party for the good man on 
Christmas Eve, 184:0, and he was made rich in crea- 
ture comforts; but he was suspected of shedding 



96 HISTORY OF MADISON". 

tears, as he reflected on the happiness that Dulcinea 
had lost. Ready to take part in any ameliorating 
effort, we find him conducting the religions exercises 
of the celebration, July 4th, 1841, when Mr. Slinger- 
land of the Dutch Reformed Church was the orator. 
He, however, ultimately found him a helpmate, and 
lived to be the father of a family. 

Rev. Richard F. Cadle, his successor, had lived 
fourteen years in the territory. He came to Green 
Bay as a missionary to the Indians. One hundred 
and twenty-nine children, Indian and mixed, at one 
time were taught by him and his assistants, industri- 
al habits and the elements of a good English Chris- 
tian training; but the effort died out after sixteen 
years. Mr. Cadle was chaplain of the fort at G-reen 
Bay and taught school. Many of the early teachers 
were men and women of good standing. He removed 
to Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, in 1830, being 
chaplain and teacher there for five years, until he 
came as pastor of the Apostolic Church, to this vil- 
lage. 

Rev. Albert Slino-erland's Dutch Reformed Church 
was a heterogeneous combination. There was an un- 
derstanding among the nine members, that name and 
creed should remain subject to the will of the major- 
ity. The congregation was organized in 1840. The 
preacher officiated twelve months from the preceding 
June. He was indefatigable, lecturing on temperance 
as well as preaching, from Sun Prairie to Prairie du 
Sac. Col. Brigham was the ruling elder. Eventu- 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



97 



ally his followers came under the pastorate of Rev. J. 
M. Clarke, having joined the Presbyterian and Congre- 
gational convention. Rev. S. E. Miner, now a prosper 
ous business man in Kansas, next preached under the 
auspices of the Home Missionary Society. Eben Peck's 
log house was their temporary church until a commodi- 
ous barn had been erected. A better edifice was raised 
in 18-16 on Webster street, block 108, lot 10, that seated 
250. Rev. Chas. Lord came in 1846, and continued 
until 1S54, when, his eyesight failing, he resigned. 
Rev. H. K. Eggleston, his successor, was very popular. 
When he left, there came near being a permanent 
split in the congregation. 

There is a general impression that whisky drinking 
was very common among the pioneers. Mr. Slinger- 
land, in 1840, said that intemperance was not so pre- 
valent as in New York, but Sabbath breaking and pro- 
fanity impressed him strongly. Some preachers have 
preserved the best chronicles of the time. Rev. Dr. 
Branson gives a lively picture of the various uses of 
the capitol for " courts, plays, shows, and worship," as 
well as legislation. Faro banks and the " Tiger ,! 
were excluded, but there were signs of the credit rao- 
bilier. The murder of C. C. P. Arndt on the eleventh 
of February, 1842, gave a terrible completeness to the 
catalogue of deeds possible in the capitol. J. R. 
Vineyard, from Grant county, terminated a dispute 
of his own beginning by shooting his fellow member 
through the heart, in the council chamber. The 

council refused Vineyard's resignation and expelled 

7 



98 IIISTOEY OF MADISON. 

him from the legislature, but the courts acquitted 
him of manslaughter. The funeral services in the 
chamber were very impressive, and Arndt was in- 
terred at Green Bay. Vineyard went to California. 
Considering the excitment, it is a wonder that he was 
not lynched. C. C. P. Arndt's father was in the as- 
sembly when his son was shot, having been invited, 
from Green Bay to a social gathering which had been 
enjoyed the night before. The Arndts, father and 
son, were beloved, and the murder was unprovoked. 

The erection of a Catholic church was resolved on 
in 1845, and commenced in the following spring. 
The church on Morris street was built in 1850, and 
three years later the foundation stone of the Catholic 
cathedral on Main street was laid by Bishop Henni. 
The consecration of St. Raphaels, in 1866, was a grand 
ceremonial, as was also the dedication of " The Church 
of the Holy Redeemer " in 1860. The storm of 1874 
injured the steeple of the cathedral, so that it was 
taken down, but the structure will be improved greatly 
in consequence. 

The first sermon was preached in Madison by the 
Rev. Salmon Stebbins, M. E., as presiding elder of 
the Milwaukee district, in the Illinois conference. 
He came on the 28th of November, 1837, and upon 
the invitaton of Col. Bird, converted the bar room of 
his brother's house into a tabernacle. The elder, a 
vigorous preacher at Kenosha, says: "I preached to 
an interested and interesting congregation." There 
was no collection, but the men made up a purse of 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 99 

$11. There were few inhabitants between Madison 
and Jefferson. He came through Kenosha — then 
Southport — and by way of Milwaukee, through the 
counties of Washington, Manitowoc and Sheboygan, 
to Green Bay and Fond du Lac — a formidable 
journey over such roads. Milwaukee was the first 
location made in this territory. Solomon Juneau 
was in his prime, a prosperous Indian trader, found- 
ing a city. Root River Mission was formed with 
Rev. Samuel Pillsbury in charge. He was our second 
preacher, and is now editing a paper. Col. Bird 
thought that Elder Stebbins' sermon was preached in 
September, but the money entry in the diary of the 
Elder fixes the date of the service. The foundation 
of the capitol was completed in November, and the 
men waited for Eben Peck to return from Green 
Bay. Mr. Woolcox of Jefferson says: "Peck had to 
swim the rivers and the money was wet, so we waited 
until it was dry to get our pay. About the end of 
November we started." Mrs. Marion Starkweather, 
Col. Bird's daughter, says that Mr. Pillsbury came in 
March, 1838, and held services afterwards once every 
month. Col. Bird provided a barn for him, where 
Kentzler's stables are now standing. There were few 
white settlers; Col. Bird, with four children, Chas. 
and ¥m. Bird, and Dr. Almon Lull were present 
when he first preached, but the outside attendance 
was large. About four hundred Indians surrounded 
the building, but would not enter. Mr. Pillsbury 
was a frequent visitor. He assisted in opening the 



100 IIISTOKY OF MADISON". 

capitol when the first session was held in the un- 
finished building. Mr. Hyer mentions the habits of 
the Indians in his notice of " Covalle the trapper." 
His Indian wife and her children would gather to 
observe the Sunday meetings, and the proceedings of 
settlers in their homes, but would rarely enter. Dr. 
Joseph Hobbins says, that an Indian and his squaw 
dined with him and his family, behaving with ex- 
emplary decorum during the repast; but after leaving 
the table they asked for every article that caught 
their fancy; considering that fact, their backwardness 
was a blessing. 

The Methodists did not recruit rapidly. In Sep- 
tember, 1838, Rev. John Hodges was appointed here 
and to Fort Winnebago, now Portage. The first three 
members in Madison were Ruth Starts, Benjamin 
Holt and his wife. Dr. Brunson was a member of the 
legislature in 1840, and he rallied the Methodists, 
assisting the chaplain, Jas. Mitchell, in occasional 
services. He thinks that Mr. Fullerton was here in 
1841. S. P. Keyes was here next year; then Jesse L. 
Bennet in 1843, and Mr. Stebbins afterwards. The 
several preachers cannot be mentioned, but Jonathan 
Snow is a piece of our history. He became eccentric 
and nearly killed the church by harsh discipline in 
1851. He was summarily removed and is remem- 
bered as "The Snow Storm." Gen. Samuel Fallows 
was the junior preacher in 1858-9, and in 1864 the 
chaplain of the 3d Wisconsin supplied the pulpit. 
Rev. E. D. Huntly is now the pastor and is working 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 101 

strenously to complete the edifice almost ready 
for dedication. The little church was once a great 
improvement on former experiences, but the new 
building will be an ornament to the city. When the 
" Little Brick" school house, on Washington avenue, 
became too small, Damon Y. Kilgore removed his 
pupils to the basement of the Methodist church. 
Even there 250 pupils in one room must have re- 
quired good stowage and little fuel in winter. 

"Chief Justice" Seymour was reflected upon in a 
public meeting during the pastorate of Mr. Philo, 
because, he being a justice of the peace, did not " kill 
the tiger" that was being "fought"' by many citi- 
zens. The respected "dominie," never suspecting a 
joke, drew up a resolution exculpating the squire as a 
" good and sufficient justice," and the audience, which 
had assembled in indignation, broke up in laughter. 
There were hard cases in the settlement, compared 
with whom Covalle was a marvel of civilization. 
Pinneo, a " shingle weaver," attended church one day 
when Mr. Philo was preaching, and he astounded the 
congregation by saying very seriously, " That's so, Mr. 
Philo, that's so, Butterfield's got to be saved; just 
hold on 'till I bring him in." Pinneo did not return. 
His absence was, in an olfactory sense, a pleasure. 
He claimed to be a down east Yankee, but that was 
the only sign of good lineage. He was indispensable 
as a maker of shingles, and when sober, had a laugh 
and a joke for everybody, but people kept to wind- 
ward of the unwashed man. He was summoned to 



102 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

serve on a jury in Judge Irvin's court, and the judge 
was scrupulously clean, while Pinneo was dirty as was 
possible to a life divorced from soap and water. The 
court was adjourned to enable Pinneo to wash and 
procure clean clothes, after listening to a diatribe 
against filth; but he survived the affliction, and was 
burned to death at last in a drunken orgie. 

Covalle conformed to the usages of civilization, 
attended church, was orderly, took physic with praise- 
worthy resolution, gave it to his half-breed children, 
made them wear the garments of white folks, and 
attend the ceremony of his marriage to their mother, 
before a justice. He had been married according to 
the usages of the country. He traced his line to the 
trappers on Hudson's Bay, and when Col. Bird came 
here, Covalle was the only white man on the site. He 
led a blameless life, being cleanly, sober and obliging. 
Better conditions supervened. Rev. Stephen McHugh 
was called by the Episcopal church in 1845, having 
become known during attendance to deliver a Masonic 
oration on the anniversary of St. John. He organ- 
ized Grace Church parish, and the ladies raised funds 
to purchase the land occupied by the church. A 
brick parsonage, commenced in 1850, was occupied on 
Christmas day when the Rev. "W. H. "Woodward was 
pastor. The next rector was the Rev. Hugh M. Thomp- 
son, followed by Mr. Powers. The sound of the 
church-going bell in the village was due to Squire 
Seymour. Meetings, social, political and religious, 
were repeatedly delayed because no two clocks or 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 103 

watches agreed, and the variations extended over two 
hours. Somebody suggested a bell; Seymour drew 
up a subscription paper, ordered the instrument, and 
on its arrival procured the first peal from its clapper, 
utilizing the astonishment of the audience by carrying 
round the hat. The bell was the common property 
of all the churches and every organization. 

Rev. J. B. Brittan came in 1855, and funds were 
raised to build a church, which was not finished when 
Mr. Brittan became chaplain of a regiment. There 
had been an outlay of $22,000, but the tower was in- 
complete and the basement was not ready for occu- 
pancy. Rev. Jas. L. Maxwell came next, remaining 
until 1S67. Before he resigned, a very handsome 
organ had been built at a cost of $2,500. Under the 
rectorship of the Rev. H. W. Spaulding, the building 
was completed in 1872. When the Rev. Dr. Spauld- 
ing removed to Pittsburg, the Rev. John Wilkinson, 
of Chicago, the present incumbent, succeeded hiur* 
winning the good opinion of all classes. A chime of 
nine bells was placed in the tower in April, 1874. 
The bishop's bell, in memory of Bishops Kemper and 
Armitage, the largest in the chime, was purchased by 
general contributions, as also was the seventh, the 
rest being donated in memoriam of the departed, 
whose names they bear. 

The Congregational Church eventuated from Mr. 
Slingerland's labors, and we have followed the organ- 
ization to Mr. Eggles ton's ministry. The people were 
attracted by Mr. Eggleston, and Bacon's Commercial 



104 



IIISTOKY OF MADISON. 



College was used while a "brick chapel was building 
on Washington avenue. Mr. Eggleston was succeeded 
by Rev. James Caldwell in 1858, and in the following 
January a church was specially organized to receive 
Mr. Eggleston as pastor, to be known as " The Union 
Congregational Church and Society of Madison." 
Eventually all reunited. Revs. L. Taylor and Lewis 
E. Matson bring us to the present incumbent, Rev. 




Chas. H. Richards, whose talents and good qualities 
have made him a gain to the community. Arriving 
in March, 1867, he has assisted in the later develop- 
ments of the church, amono- which must be noted the 
elegant edifice, capable of seating one thousand per- 
sons. The bell in the tower was given by Mrs. L. A. 
Richards, and was at that time the heaviest in the 
city; but the "Bishops' Bell," in Grace Church chime 
is five hundred pounds heavier. 



HISTORY OF MADISOX. 1^5 

The Presbyterian Charcli was at first identified with 
other organizations. Rev. H. B. Gardiner was re- 
tained by the congregation in 1851 at Lewis Hall, 
The building since used as a bakery by Mr. Miner, at 
the corner of Mifflin and Carroll streets, was next 
occupied, and in 1853, the church moved into the 
frame building, corner of "Wisconsin avenue and 
Johnson street. The several pastors have been the 
Revs. Win. L. Green, Edward G. Read and Richard 
V. Dodge, until we reach the pastorate of the Rev. 
L. Y. Havs, who has served since 1873, maintaining 
unabated popularity and usefulness, and taking a 
praiseworthy part in many movements outside the 
church. 

The First Baptist Church was organized in Decem- 
ber, 1817, by the Rev. H. W. Read, his successors be- 
ing the Revs. John Williams, S. S. Whitman, M. D. 
Miller, James Cooper and Wm. R. Brooks, whose 
pastorate ended in 1858. There were many preachers 
for brief terms. In the summer of 1860, Rev. W. II. 
Brisbane became pastor, but resigned to become chap- 
lain of the first Wisconsin cavalry regiment. Rev. 
J. E. Johnson assumed pastoral charge in 1863, and 
he was followed in succession by Revs. J. C. C. Clarke, 
Mr. Paige and Thomas Bright, who came to the city 
in 1873, and rendered acceptable service until his 
lamentable sudden death in the pulpit, in September, 
1876. 

The German Evangelical Association commenced 
operations in 1811, when the missionary, Rev. J. G. 



,106 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

Miller, having- found German families in Madison, 
held service in their houses. The whole of Wiscon- 
sin was his parish, and his salary was $41 in 1845, 
increasing to $47 the second year. His successors 
were the Revs. J. Eply and M. Howard, hut Mr. 
Miller was still a frequent visitor. Revs. C. Sclmake 
and W. Strasberger commenced a church building 
between Broome and Bassett streets, which was fin- 
ished by Mr. Miller in 1856. The church oa-Pinck- 
ney street, corner of Mifflin, was built in 1865, under 
the pastoral charge of the Rev. W. F. Schneider, suc- 
ceeded by the Revs. C. F. Finger and Chas. Schneider. 

The German Lutheran Church has erected two 
buildings, the first on Main street, in 1858, near the 
railroad depot, on block forty-four; the second, ten 
years later, on Washington avenue and West Canal 
street. The organization dates from 1856. Rev. H. 
Yogel, was pastor until 1872, when he was succeeded 
by Rev. Christian Wilke. 

The German Methodist Church, Rev. Mr. Walker, 
pastor, was built in 1864, on the corner of Mifflin and 
Webster streets. 

The Norwegian Lutheran Church, on the corner of 
Hamilton and Bntler streets, was erected in 1862. 
Rev. II. A. Preuss is pastor. 

The Hebrew Congregation Schaare Schoymayn, of 
which the Rev. J M. Thuringer is Rabbi, hold services 
every Saturday at 10 A. M., in the Synagogue on 
Washington avenue, between Henry and Fairchild 
streets. 




Hon. David Atwood. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. ]Q9 



CHAPTER VIII. 

NEWSPAPER HISTORY. 

A Scotchman who had seen the Stuart dynasty 
sung from a throne, said: "Let me make a nation's 
ballads, and who will, may make its laws." Newspa- 
pers have superseded ballads. Journalism, the popu- 
lar voice in type, is the foe of usurpation. The 
growth of our press has been wonderful. While 
Captain Carver diplomatized among the Indians here, 
the newspaper advanced from an advertising sheet to 
a political power. Before King' George rewarded 
Carver with a grant, the press had defeated the mon- 
arch. The stamp act might have been fought in 
vain, but for our journals. Henry would have roused 
a small circle, but there would have been no national 
soul. Journalism was the bond of union that saved 
the colonies. Charles Carroll, in the Maryland Ga- 
zette, indorsed Patrick Henry, and every liberal sheet 
responded. The Gazette, in Pennsylvania ; the New- 
port Mercury, R. L, answered the call, and the Mer- 
cury was suppressed in vain. Charleston papers took 
up the strain ; New York sons of liberty shouted for 
freedom. The Boston Gazette echoed the words of 
Henry, backed by Adams, and a pamphlet in London 
disseminated that utterance, in spite of the British 
government. Within one year the king was discom- 



110 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

fited, the stamp act repealed. That was the begin- 
ning, and the end was near. "I am the State," said 
Louis XIV. With greater truth the press could have 
said, "I am the Evolution." The newspaper was 
the weapon, without which there had been no Bunker 
Hill, no world renowned Declaration. 

The Enquirer, published by Noonan, was small, 
but it had power. His share in the transaction ap- 
pears elsewhere. George Hyer, who set the first type, 
lias been mentioned with honor. The partnerships 
of Sholes, Noonan, Hyer and Judge Ivnapp, are sto- 
ries often told. Heed changed the sheet from Demo- 
cratic to Whig, and in 1844, the changeling died. 
Politics, in the early settlement, were for and against 
the commissioners. When the capitol ceased to sup- 
ply pabulum, a Democratic pioneer says, " we went 
where we belonged." 

Party lines were observed when the Wisconsin 
Express appeared, in 1839. Wyman sold the paper 
to D. At wood and Royal Buck, who afterwards con- 
solidated with the Statesman. Its politics were 
Whig. Wyman was a hard hitter. When Ream and 
Clark were candidates for the office of register, the 
former winning by two votes, Wyman made affidavit 
and published, that the canvassers had suppressed 
returns. Ream confirms that statement, saying: "I 
found myself elected by two votes, which much sur- 
prised me .... until" .... a friend explained .... after 

exacting secrecy that the extra vote was obtained 

by strategy, to make my election sure." Wyman is 



HISTORY OF MADISON. Ill 

fortified, but the canvasser says: "Save me from my 
friends." 

Knapp and Delaney brought out the Wisconsin 
Democrat in 1812, which died eighteen months later, 
in the hands of J. P. Sheldon and Geo. Hyer. The 
same name was used for a paper in 1816, by Beriah 
Brown. That organ combined with the Wisconsin 
Argus. "While two papers were running, both offices 
wanted the government printing. The Argus, some 
months older than the Democrat, rested on its anti- 
quity. Beriah Brown relied on shell fish, and the 
wire puller won. A caucus being called to settle the 
question, a member unseared by corruption, said: 
" "We have eat Brown's oysters and drinked his liquor. 
We can't go back on Brown." Beriah succeeded in 
taking the Argus, as well as the patronage. 

The Wisconsin Argus was published by S. Mills & 
Co., with John Y. Smith, editor. H. A. Tenney 
joined, when the firm of Tenney, Smith & Holt was 
established. Two of the firm sold to S. D. Carpen- 
ter, and Mr. Tenney remained until 1852, when the 
consolidation followed. " Old Hunkers " and " Tad- 
poles," the divisions of the Democratic party, took 
their " feast of reason " in one sheet. Mr. Carpen- 
ter retired, and Beriah " played it alone " until July, 
1851, when E. A. Calkins, since of the Milwaukee 
News, joined the staff. Calkins & Proud fit became 
proprietors. Two years later, J. K. Proudfit sold to 
Mr. "Webb. The paper suffered from tightness of the 
i.hest, and Beriah Brown was called in, but after three 



112 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

months vigorous treatment there were no signs of in- 
creasing vitality. Brown left Webb & Calkins, and 
the paper breathed its last. There was a resurrection, 
but Calkins & Cullaton could not make it 2:0. Calk- 
ins sold out, other editors gave vigorous support to 
the war policy of Lincoln, but the paper would not 
live. 

"VVyman brought out the Statesman in 1850. "Wil- 
liam Welch was one of its editors. Wyman & Bugh 
assumed the management in 1851, and at last consol- 
idated with the Express. The Wisconsin State Pal- 
ladium resulted. Atwood, Wyman & Buck did not 
harmonize, and the paper was suspended. The State 
Journal made its appearance, with David Atwood as 
editor and proprietor, in September, 1852, the Repub- 
lican party accepting the Journal as its organ. Sev- 
eral additions and alterations have worked no change 
in the politics of the paper. Mr. Rublee, Mr. Gary, 
Mr. Reed and Mr. Culver have supported the ven- 
ture, making it one of the best journalistic proper- 
ties in the state; with one of the most complete 
printing offices west of Chicago. 

Earlier phases of newspaper activity are illustrated 
by a sketch from the State Journal. Mr. D. E. 
Tenneyls identified with this city, and the phrases of 
Col. Bird are true to life: 

" Twenty-six years ago, Dan. K. Tenney put up at 
the " United States Hotel," with two " bits " in his 
pocket. Col. A. A. Bird was landlord. Said Dan, 
" Two bits sizes my pile; but I'd like to stay here 



1IIST0KY OF MADISON. 



115 



over night and see what I can do to-morrow." The 
Colonel (good old soul as ever lived) looked at his 
new guest, and replied: "O Gael, yes; stay as long 
as you like, hoy! Have some supper? O, Gad, yes; 
come in. Stay as long as you please." Dan had 
supper and a night's lodging, and in the morning 
struck a printing office, and secured a " sit." Getting 
a little money, Dan next turned up in the University. 
He got as much as they could spare in that institu- 
tion and returned to the printing office (the Journal, 
a wee hit of a paper then), working along, until toil 
and no fortune seemed foolishness. One day, all hands 
were " jeffing"on the stone to see who should get a 
pail full of whisky, when Dan. spoke up: " Who the 
d — I's got any money- in this crowd?" Nobody, of 
course; and the " devil "' had to go down and " stand 
off" old " Jackknife " Robinson for a couple of 
quarts. After this amount had been disposed of, it 
struck Dan that printers were fools to be pulling 
hand press and sticking small pica, so he remarked: 
"Good bye, boys; you are all condemned fools if you 
stay here? I'm going to study law and make some- 
thing." Dan started for Portage, where he met his 
brother H. "W. " I've come up to study law with 
you, by thunder." H. \Y. replied sharply, "You 
have? You are a darned fool; you'd better stick to 
printing. You'll cut a hog in tw T o studying law? 
But if you are bound to stick to law, you can see what 
you can do turning those eighty acres of mine into 
city lots, and selling them." This was Dan's first 



110 IIISTOEY OF MADISON. 

job. He succeeded, stuck to the law and kept out of 
a printing office, except when briefs and other jobs 
were required. We don't know how Dan counts his 
thousands in Chicago, but he has just erected a hand- 
some block, on the spot where Col. Bird, twenty-six 
years ago, took him in, with only two " bits," in his 
pocket. ( 

There were wild jokers in the printing offices, men 
for whom a hen-roost had no sacredness; fellows as 
full of deviltry as Falstaff on Gad's Hill, but more 
courage. One of the Tenney's possessed a choice 
assortment of poultry. One night, when the devil 
failed to scare np copy, that power of darkness found 
occupation for idle hands, purloining capons from the 
foreman to make a feast for the father of the chapel. 
There were two Tenneys in the business, but II. A., 
to whom the poultry belonged, warmly approved the 
banquet. He said the foragers should revisit the hen 
roost, and they did so. There may be no truth, but 
there is poetical justice in \hefowl invention. D. K. 
Tenney says: "Have not all my happy days for twen- 
ty-six years been spent in Madison?" Was the hap- 
piest day that night? The boys cleared his brother's 
hen-roosts like the grasshoppers scooped Kansas? 

The Wisconsin Patriot has more than one eventful 
history. Gathered to "the tomb of the Capulets," it 
is still a power. The first number appeared twenty- 
two years ago. The proprietors and editors were J. 
T. Marston and H. A. Tenney. Tenney sold to S. D. 
Carpenter, who subsequently bought out Marston. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 117 

The firm of S. D. and S. H. Carpenter ran for some 
time, bnt after many changes, S. H. Carpenter, our 
much respected "Professor of Logic and Literature," 
sold to Mr. Law, who was associated with S. D. Car- 
penter about a year. The Patriot saw many changes 
which would be tedious to narrate. The management 
at the present time is in the hands of II. A. Tenney 
and S. D. Carpenter, but their business arrangements 
are not matters of history. Two men so intimately 
identified with the press of this city, deserve a notice 
embracing more than their Madison engagements. 
Major Tenney, from whose sketches we have freely 
quoted, came in 1845, but went to Galena, and did 
not buy into the Wisconsin Argus until 1846. He 
was government printer in 1847 and the following 
year. When the constitutional convention assembled, 
he was reporter, and again in 1848. Directly and in- 
directly he was state printer until 1852, when ill 
health compelled his retirement from the Argus. 
The Major, one of the founders of the Patriot, sold 
out to his old partner. Mr. Tenney's services to the 
University are matters of history. His position as 
assistant state geologist, enabled him to aid the Uni- 
versity collections largely. In 1857, he was a mem- 
ber of the legislature, and introduced the bill for the 
new capitol. In the following year he was comptrol- 
ler of state, and one of the regents of the university. 
His services at Camp Kandall need not be enumer- 
ated, nor his appointments in the U. S. A. He was 
special agent of the P. O. department until 1864. In 



118 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

1869-70, lie was associate editor of the Chicago Jie- 
publican, moving to similar duties on the Post, and 
on the St. Paul Pioneer in 1872. He became clerk 
of the railroad commission in 1874, is the oldest Mad- 
ison editor surviving in "Wisconsin, and not yet tired 
of the drudgery of the press. When he began there 
were but nine exchanges, few of which have survived. 
Mr. S. D. Carpenter settled in Madison in 1850, 
and was identified in succession with the Argus, and 
the Argus and Democrat, from which having retired 
he devoted his genius for mechanics, to invention. 
The pump, to which he is indebted for a pseudonym, 
was invented in 1853, and he sold rights to the extent 
of nearly $35,000. Qnce more in newspaper life, Mr. 
Carpenter became editor and proprietor of the Pat- 
riot. Its politics were eventually war democratic. 
The well known claim for damages against the state, 
dates from 1864. During that year Mr. Carpenter 
devised a power press, on the model now largely used, 
feeding from paper in the roll, and he claims to have 
originated that plan. The invention of an automatic 
grain binder employed nine years, and about $40,000. 
It is claimed that every device now operating for that 
purpose, took its rise in Mr. Carpenter's ingenuity. 
His inventions were sold to McCormick & Co., because 
a fortune was wanted to establish his rights, and fur- 
nish machines. His veneer cutting and other inven- 
tions cannot be glanced at; suffice it to say that few 
men have excelled him in variety and originality of 
design for labor-saving machinery. 




Dan. K. Tenney, Esq. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



121 



The Daily Capitol, published by W. J. Park & 
Co., with Col. Calkins as editor, appeared on the day 
on which President Lincoln was shot. It was a racy, 
nonpartizan daily, eventually incorporated with the 
Democrat, which was established in 1865, by Hyer 
& Fernandez, and bought by A. E. Gordon. The 
title was then changed from Wisconsin to Madison 
Democrat. Mr. Bajmier is now editor and proprietor, 
having succeeded the firm of J. B. Parkinson & Co., 
which purchased from Gordon. 

The Journal of Education originated in Janesville, 
but was transferred to this city. Col. J. G. McMynn, 
afterwards state superintendent, was its editor, suc- 
ceeded by A. J. Craig, also state superintendent. 
Itev. J. B. Pradt is now one of the editors. Discon- 
tinued in 1865, in consequence of a withdrawal of 
state support, it was resumed when partial aid was 
afforded. Several substitutes started elsewhere, but 
they do not come within our limits. "When Gen. 
Fallows succeeded as state superintendent, upon the 
death of Mr. Craig, he revived the Journal, and 
Superintendent Searing continues the publication. 

The Wisconsin Farmer, commenced under another 
name in Janesville, was removed to this city in 1855, 
the interest of one proprietor being purchased by E. 
W. Skinner and D. J. Powers. The paper was con- 
ducted with great energy by Dr. J. W. Hoyt, assisted 
by the skillful pen of his wife. The paper died after 
twenty years of struggle, beaten by extensive capital 
in such enterprises in eastern cities. The Norse press 



122 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

has had severe vicissitudes. Many courageous efforts 
have failed; none conducted with first class talent, 
nearly all have been respectable. The names of some 
failures are given, but some may have escaped notice: 
De Norskes Ven, Friend of the Norseman; Den 
Norshe Amerikaner, American Norseman; the 
Nordstjemen, Northern Star; Immigranten; Billed 
(or illustrated) Magazine; Imigranten; Den Liber- 
ale Democrat, and Wisconsin Banner, have all per- 
ished. There remains only to-day the JVordvesten,. a 
liberal democratic weekly, edited and published by L. 
J. Grinde. The JVordvesten deserves success. Ole 
Torgerson's De Norskes Ven was the first paper in a 
foreign tongue in this county. It was whig in poli- 
tics, and appeared in 1850, but a few months ended 
its career. Den JVorske Amerikaner appeared in 
December 1854, and died in 'May, 1857. "The Scan- 
dinavian Democratic Press Association " brought out 
the JSfordstjernen in 1857. Their effort was not suc- 
cessful, although changes of management were tried. 
The JEmigranten was brought to this city from 
Immansville, Rock county, but after years of partial 
success, that also was gathered to its fathers. There 
have been several fugitive periodicals of a religious 
character. 

The German population supports the Wisconsin 
Botschafter, started by Porsch and Sitzman in 1869. 
There have been several German papers, but none 
have prospered. The Staats Zietung, democratic, 
edited by August Kruer, continued two years. The 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 123 

Madison Zietung, republican, hardly lived two years. 
The Madison Demokrat, published in 1858, perished 
in 1860. 

The Madison Capitol was started in 1855 by J. 
Nolan. The True American, edited by an association, 
appeared during the same year. The Western Fire- 
side, by S. H. Carpenter in 1857. The Higher Law, 
by Herbert Reed, in 1861; and the Soldier's Record, 
by S. W. Martin in 1864. Our educational interests 
were served by the Northwestexn Journal of Edu- 
cation, Science and Literature, in 1850, under the 
editorship of Prof. O. M. Conover, and by the Free 
School Journal, edited by J. L. Enos. Of Dr. Hunt's 
ephemeral, the " Old Oaken Bucket," a temperance 
paper, we can only say, Requiescat in pace. The Stu- 
dent's Miscellany was commenced during the session 
of 1857, and its tone reflects credit on the manage- 
ment. The Home Diary is a sparkling occasional paper 
edited by Y. J. Welch, which deals vigorously with 
every topic that is touched. A paragraph, denounc- 
ing the shortcomings of Park & Co., in selling a copy 
of Burns' poems without " Holy Willie's Prayer," is 
a favorable specimen of the style, which we subjoin: 

"Friends! be cautious in buying Burns' poems. 
We were saddled with a copy recently in which 
" Holy Willie's Prayer " was omitted. Park sold it 
to us. He is a Scotchman. He is one of the " pres- 
byt'ry of Ayr." 

" Lord, hear my earnest cry and pray'r, 
Against the presbyt'ry of Ayr; 
Thy strong right hand, Lord, make it bare." 



124 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MERCHANTS AND BANKERS. 

Gkeat changes have come since Madison was set- 
tied by four housekeepers, who procured supplies from 
the peddler's cart and the post office store. There 
were bright fellows in the settlement, but they dis- 
pensed with much that we deem essential. Tom Jack- 
son, the Scotchman, whose whip-saw cut lumber for the 
capitol, before Wheeler was ready, was almost a man- 
ufactory. Tom illustrated the possibility of doing 
without indispensables, but not as they do in some 
parts of Scotland. His old log house was on fire, and 
the last glass had dulled his wits. Tumbling out of 
bed, Tom, who was called Jack for brevity, pushed 
his lower limbs through the sleeves of his jacket, and 
with many an adjective declared that " some fellow 
had cut off the legs of his pantaloons." The better 
appliances of life were more remote than the seedy 
unmentionables of Tom Jackson. Everything was in 
the rough. The park was the forest primeval. Prai- 
rie fires annually crossed from marsh to marsh. Game 
was abundant. Prairie chickens and quail were shot 
in the village, where bears, wolves and deer were not 
strangers. Many years later Col. Bird's hotel stood 
in an unbroken forest, and trees that now ornament 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 125 

the park were planted at the instance of Judge Knapp, 
who risked having to pay for the improvements. The 
woods abounded with game, and deer were particu- 
larly plentiful until 1849, when the Winnebagoes 
killed 500 near the Asylum. They would have cleared 
the country, but the settlers interfered. The supply 
was important, when any man might depend on his 
skill for a dinner. The commissioners' store was not 
the pioneer. Simeon Mills was deputy postmaster 
and storekeeper before July, 1837. Mr. Catlin, his 
partner, says that barrels of salt and flour, hauled from 
Galena, were then worth $30 and $20 each. " Wild 
cat currency " was the circulating medium, and the 
notes of Judge Doty were at a premium. The legis- 
lature, during the session of 1838-9, passed a "stay 
law " against recovering debts. The predominant 
sentiment of the community was hatred of banks. 
'Squire Seymour says that in 1839 there were two 
stores, three groceries, a steam mill, three public 
houses, and in all thirty-five buildings. Dr. Chap- 
man mentions, in 1846, Shields & Sneden, Finch & 
Blanchard, and E. B. Dean & Co., as the storekeepers 
of the village. Fairchild's store came next. The 
population had increased from 62 to 283. The doctor 
was told there were 400 inhabitants, but many farm- 
ers were looked on as village residents. Messersmith's 
house, on Pinckney street, was in full blast, with a 
"wet grocery" down stairs and "the tiger" above. 

The first help to Madison was the location of the 
capitol. The next, the arrival of Mr. Farwell, who 



126 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

invested money and energies in permanent imj)rove- 
ments. His fortune was not large, and part was in- 
vested elsewhere, bnt he brought the reputation of 
wealth, and turned it to excellent account. He sys- 
tematically made known the beauties and excellences 
of the locality, and induced others to invest. His 
coming gave an impetus, labor acquired value, real 
estate changed hands, roads were opened and cleared; 
the press all over the union had paragraphs about 
Madison. We were no longer out of the world. The 
marks left by Farwell can be seen in our growth. 

Until the capital was permanently located there was 
little progress. Lobbyists hoped that another site 
would be chosen when the constitution was adopted, 
and Milwaukee wooed the legislature. Fixity of 
tenure could alone justify expenditure on property. 
Hence the slowness observable in every branch of en- 
terprise. That period of doubt had passed when Mr. 
Farwell came and invested in real estate in 1848. 
The business advantages and beauty of Madison were 
his constant themes, and he spared no expense in giv- 
ing them publicity. Remunerative works on a large 
scale were undertaken. Mendota was dammed at its 
outlet, increasing the fall two feet, and Monona, low- 
ered by the removal of an old obstruction, made a 
further improvement. Farwell became more benefi- 
cially associated with the growth of Madison than 
any of its pioneers. The inexhaustible reservoir, thus 
turned to account for industrial enterprise, created a 
demand for workmen. The lakes unfolded a promise 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



127 



of wealth. "When H. A. Tenney came, lie was intro- 
duced by J. A. Noonan to all the celebrities in a few 
minutes. The little coterie in 1845 numbered few 
besides Governor Dodge, Secretary Floyd, Judges 
Dunn, Irvin and Miller, George P. Delaplaine and 
Mr. Mills. Manufactures and enterprise changed the 
aspect of society. Until Mr Farwell came, the place 
had never been thought worthy of a circus. When 
that distinction was attained the legislature adjourned 
to see the show. The villagers had depended on each 
other for amusements, but there had been ample 
leisure. 

Improvements were made rapidly, and golden vis- 
ions were common. The circuitous Yahara was su- 
perseded by a straight canal. At the outlet of Men- 
dota a long building contained a saw and grist mill. 
Tibbits and Gordon built their brewery below the 
mill, and the court house was commenced in 1849. 
The old jail, once let as a shoemakers' shop, no longer 
met the wants of the community. Farwell started, 
his grist and flouring mill in 1850, and opened two 
roads across the Yahara. The first dormitory at the 
university was erected in 1850, in a thicket remote 
from the village, hardly approachable. Prominent 
citizens began more beautiful homes and other im- 
provements. Men became speculative. Ditching, 
planking and planting Washington Avenue, by Mr. 
Farwell, was an act that found no competitors, but in 
other ways his conduct provoked a spirit of emula- 
tion. 



128 IIISTOKY OF MADISOX. 

The years 1851-2 were prolific in the erection of 
business blocks. Public houses were found inadequate 
and the Capital House was commenced by associated 
effort. Messrs. Yilas, Fairchild and Farwell bought 
the venture in 1853, and the hotel was completed be- 
fore the fall. Madison was a paradise for builders. 
The best positions were rapidly occupied for business. 
The Presbyterian church was finished, the founda- 
tions of the Catholic church laid, and the Milwau- 
kee and Mississippi railroad company commenced 
building their depot in a growth of coppice wood on 
the spot occupied by the successors of that company. 
Early in 1851 the depot was ready, the bridge con- 
structed and the first train of passenger cars arrived. 
The celebration took place on Tuesday, May 23, 1851. 
That was a great day for Madison and the surrounding 
country. Other works were undertaken during the 
year, including a fire-proof structure for the safe 
keeping of the state registry, a new bridge across the 
Yahara, a brick church for the Baptists, the second 
dormitory of the university, the extension of Wash- 
ington Avenue, specially due to the liberality of Ex- 
Governor Farwell, and the commencement of the asy- 
lum for the insane. Men assumed that there would 
be a population of ten thousand here within two 
years. There was a woolen factory, a flouring mill, a 
grist mill, two saw mills, an oil mill, a mill for saw- 
ing stone, foundry and machine shops, two steam 
planing mills, besides other extensive undertakings, 
three daily papers and five weeklies, and a sale of 



HISTOKY OF MADISOX. 120 

more than $500,000 worth of produce during 1854-5. 
Seymour's Madison Directory, in 1855, gave excellent 
grounds for anticipating rapid growth. The popula- 
tion was nearly seven thousand. Ex-Governor Far- 
well was offering desirable lots, with credit, extending 
ten years if required, provided that purchasers should 
occupy and improve. Telegraph lines connected Mad- 
ison with the whole circle of civilization. Goods 
could he purchased at little advance on the charges in 
any metropolitan city, and some storekeepers said 
much cheaper. The American Express Company had 
an office, the Madison Mutual Ins. Co. had entered upon 
its successful career, and other companies had opened 
agencies. The State Agricultural Society had rooms 
in Br uen's Block, and there was every facility for 
coming into the world with the aid of science, re- 
maining, with all the graces that art and dry goods 
could afford, and at the last being undertaken for, in 
a style replete with grace and finish, so that the end 
crowned the work. There were banks, a water cure, 
and it is difficult to imagine a want which Madison 
had not appliances for immediately satisfying. Over 
three hundred and fifty houses were built in 1851. 

The Madison Hydraulic Company, to supply water 
from Lake Mendota, was a failure; there was a dif- 
ficulty in procuring capital. The Gas Company 
seemed to be in danger, but the secretary, B. F. Hop- 
kins, leased the works, and made the enterprise a suc- 
cess. In the same year, Ex-Governor Farwell com- 
menced the residence, which was purchased as a 
9 



130 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

"Hospital for wounded Soldiers," next occupied by 
the " Soldiers' Orphans," then given to the State 
University, and since sold to be used as a Theological 
Seminary and College, by the Norwegians. Rapidly 
as the building mania spread, every new comer was 
forced to build, if his means would permit, so con- 
tinuous was the demand. Trade prospects grew 
more encouraging, school houses were required, and 
churches well sustained. Madison became a city on 
the fourth of March, 1856, and Colonel Fairchild was 
its first mayor. The necessity for school houses was 
recognized by the city council, and $24,000 appropri- 
ated to erect schools. The City Hall was commenced 
in 1857, and the main building of the University 
was awarded to contractors, to be finished before 
November, 1858. The log house erected for Eben 
Peck was saved from falling by being torn down, 
after twenty years' service. About the same time, as 
if the old " tavern stand " must be identified with 
the capital, there was a new proposition to remove. 
The capitol was dilapidated, and rivals said that as a 
new structure must be raised, the time was favorable 
for a transfer. The city authorities met the difficulty 
by donating $50,000 in bonds, towards erecting the 
present edifice. That settled the question. "While 
affairs were thus progressing, came the financial crisis 
of 1857. The crash was disastrous to Madison. Mil- 
waukee availed itself of the confusion, to renew the 
attempt to remove the seat of government. Upon 
the third reading of the bill, there was a tie vote; but 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



131 



by an adroit movement, the measure was killed for 
the session; delay, meant death. Many associations 
of public value date from this time, among which, 
we note: "The Capitol Hook and Ladder Company, 
Ko. 1;" "Mendota Fire Engine Company, No. 1;" 
'•Madison Engine Company, No. 2; " the " Govern- 
or's Guards;"' the "Madison Guards; ' : and the 




Wisconsin State Capitol. 



"Dane Cavalry." Already, the excitement arising 
from the troubles in Kansas, was producing an effect 
in military and other organizations. 

The postoffice had long been established, and well 
served, but railroads had given greater completeness. 
Pioneers remember when the nearest postoffice was 
at the City of the Four Lakes, from which village 
there was a road partly cleared to Fort "Winnebago. 



132 niSTORY OF MADISON". 

When Jolm Catlin and liis deputy got into working 
order, things were better. Darwin Clark remembers 
the mail for the village being brought in a handker- 
chief. Newspapers increased the bulk, but for some 
months there was only an occasional copy of the 
Cooperstown Freeman's Journal, which had a won- 
derful circulation from hand to hand. There would 
have been more newspapers, as there were few books, 
and whisky drinking was not universal; but there 
was a strike among the hands. The men that came 
with Colonel Bird signed articles, with the under- 
standing that their pay, $2.25 per day, would com- 
mence with the journey, but a proviso, that if they 
left within three months, there were to be deductions. 
The transit from Milwaukee commencing on Wednes- 
day, ended eleven days later, on Saturday, so that 
there would be a large drawback on every man's pay, 
if he should quit the work prematurely. The trouble 
arose on the questions that still agitate the Union — 
paper money and resumption. The commissioners 
were said to have been paid the amount of the con- 
gressional vote, in specie, which they had deposited 
in the bank at Green Bay, the bills of which estab- 
lishment were used for wages. The notes could be 
used with little loss in the territory, but every re- 
moval cost a " shave " of from ten to fifteen per 
cent., and even then the exchange might be made in 
" wild cat " paper, that would speedily lose all value. 
Hence the workmen demanded specie payments, and 
the commissioners deferred that operation. Many 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 133 

would have left at once, but for the three months' pro- 
viso. A large proportion did leave as soon as that 
time had expired. There was little difficulty in sup- 
plying their places. There was not much employ- 
ment in Wisconsin. Several strikes occurred. The 
stone cutters, at Stone Quarry Point, now McBride's, 
combined to get higher wages. 

The prices charged for everything were enormous, 
and there was little margin, unless men limited them- 
selves to bare necessaries. A man could get board for 
$5.00 per week, and lodge in the dormitory near the 
east gate of the park — the club house, sleeping apart- 
ment and literary assembly. But as soon as ambi- 
tion suggested the desirability of personal adornment, 
or outlay for any other purpose, money took wings. 
Would the workman build a log house to prepare for 
matrimony? The barrier was not only that better 
halves were scarce and that the cost of calico was pro- 
digious. Pinneo and Butterfield would have their 
own price for shingles, and the customer must wait 
until there was no whisky to be had on credit. 
Nails cost three shillings per pound; the brownest of 
brown sugar fetched a like price; a pound of sperm 
candles cost one dollar, and every article was propor- 
tionately dear. No wonder men struck for higher 
wages. * Speaking of prices, we may revert to the 
charges preferred against the old commissioners and 
their contractor-partner, " Uncle Jim " Morrison. The 
amount of the two votes from congress — not from 
the territorial legislature, for that body had no money 



134 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

to appropriate — was $40,000; and when the terri- 
torial authorities brought suit against Morrison, it 
was proved by measurements and vouchers that the 
basement alone cost $13,000. Moses M. Strong was 
the attorney for the territory, and Mr. Fields con- 
ducted the case for Morrison, so that there was no 
lack of zeal or ability on the side of the government, 
but the action was a failure. When the population 
had settled down to industrial pursuits, upon the re- 
turn of the citizen soldiers, a directory was published, 
in 1866, by B. W. Suckow. John Y. Smith was the 
historian. Many prominent business men, in the 
record of 1855, did not survive the crash of 1857. 
Those who had invested in real estate, found that item 
the least real among their assets. Ex-Gov. Farwell 
had specially devoted himself to that branch. It 
would be an endless task to name the failures, there- 
fore one instance may suffice for many. Tibbits and 
Gordon, a short time before the crisis, could have 
realized $60,000 beyond paying every cent; and when 
the storm burst, so hopeless was every effort, they 
could not pay fifty cents on the dollar. Gov. Far- 
well's ruin called forth much sympathy. He had 
built up the community, spending his own money in 
a liberal spirit and inducing others to invest. Men 
thrown out of their customary labor could remember 
the generous employer who had given work to hun- 
dreds. A policy less open handed might have en- 
abled him to tide over the panic, but the village 
would have been much slower in becoming a city. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 135 

The crisis destroyed the value of real estate, closed up 
stores, factories, workshops and offices, threw men 
out of their gainful avocations, and brought gaunt 
famine near to many doors which had been fondly 
thought secure from its dread approach. 

After the crisis, some mills were resumed, and in 
1866, the manufactories of the city included the flour- 
ing mill built by the ex-governor, owned by Mr. 
Briggs; a woolen factory, the steam flouring mill of 
Maiming and Merrill, and the iron foundry com- 
menced by E. ~VV. Skinner in 1851, on the corner of 
State and Gorham streets, sold in succession to W. S. 
Huntington in 1859, and to Andrews & Co. in 1864. 
The foundry of E. W. Skinner & Co. occupied the 
building raised by Gorham for a steam saw mill. 
The mill changed hands, and was made into a foundry 
by I. E. Brown. P. H. Turner bought the property 
in 1859, when the country was recovering from the 
crash, and Mr. Skinner became the proprietor, adding 
to his firm O. S. Willey and S. D. Hastings. That 
establishment,- in lS65-'6, employed fifty men, be- 
sides canvassers all over the northwest. Beginning 
with one sorghum mill in 1861, it extended its opera 
tions to eleven in 1862, one hundred in the following 
year, and in 1865 more than five hundred. The Cap 
ital Iron Works, owned by J. E. Baker and operated 
by Mr. Stillman, had been entered upon in 1865 
There were, besides, two planing mills, three cabinet 
ware manufactories, and great hopes that the peat 
beds would become factors of immense prosperity. 



186 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

The Agricultural Society, a young institution when 
Mr. Seymour published his directory, had grown 
strong, and the old rooms were to be given up for the 
better location in the capitol. The patriotism of the 
society in vacating its grounds for military use ren- 
dered it impossible to hold exhibitions from 1S61 to 
1863; but in September, 1864, Camp Randall having 
well nigh completed its military avocation, was avail- 
able for the arts of peace. The value of the institu- 
tion is beyond praise. It has stimulated agricul- 
tural and inventive industry and skill, largely to the 
advantage of our city and state. Abraham Lincoln, 
then not dreaming of the presidency, honored the 
society on one occasion by delivering the annual ad- 
dress. Other orators, well worthy of being particu- 
larized, are omitted for want of space. 

The State Hospital for the Insane was commenced 
under an act passed by the legislature when Gov. 
Barstow was in office, in 1854, but in consequence of 
a misunderstanding, the contractor, Andrew Proudlit, 
did not proceed. There was no blame attaching to 
him, and he recovered damages. Two years later the 
scheme was revived, but the original name of Lunatic 
Asylum was changed to the title now in use. The 
contractor, in 1857, was compelled to abandon the 
enterprise, but the building was made ready in 1860. 
Col. S. V. Shipman was the architect; additions were 
made in 1861. Dr. Clement was medical superinten- 
dent in 1860, and Dr. Favill assistant. In 1864, Dr. 
Yan Norstrand became medical superintendent, and 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 137 

Dr. Sawyer assistant. There was no change in the 
office of matron, which continues to be filled by Mrs. 
M. C. Halliday. 

The fact that the capitol graces Madison is due to 
the business tact of the citizens. The grant of $50,000 
in city bonds has been mentioned. The east wing 
was undertaken in 1857, and the legislature occupied 
the building in 1859. The west wing was com- 
menced in 1861, amid the discouragements and 
financial pressure incident to civil war, and that wing 
was finished in 1S63. The north wing, the south 
wing, and the rotunda followed in the order named, 
the dome being completed before the commencement 
of this decade. The material is not so good as the 
beauty of the structure demanded, but the commis- 
sioners did the best possible under the circumstances. 
The internal finish is admirable, and the conveniences 
afforded for the several departments are all that can 
be desired. Few persons visit Madison without mount- 
ing the wide iron stairs that lead from the upper floor 
to the second, in which are found the chambers of the 
senate and assembly, the supreme court, the state 
library, and the still more attractive collections of the 
state historical society. 

The State Bank, on Pinckney st., between Tenney's 
and Bruen's blocks, was opened in January, 1853, with 
a capital of $50,000, under the direction of President 
Samuel Marshall and Cashier J. A. Ellis. The Bank 
of the West began on the second floor of Bruen's 
Block, in March, 1854, with a capital of $100,000, 



138 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

i 

and the officers were Samuel A. Lowe, President, and 
Wm. L. Hinsdale, Cashier. The Dane County Bank, 
in the same block, began its operations in October, 
with a capital of $50,000, the officers being Levi B. 
Vilas, President, Leonard J. Parwell, Yice President, 
and N. B. Yan Slyke, Cashier. There was, in addi- 
tion, in 1855, a bank of discount and brokerage on 
Morris street, of which J. M. Dickinson was man- 
ager and owner. Catlin, Williamson & Barwise ad- 
vertised as bankers and land agents, dating their 
establishment from 1836, just a little before Madison 
came into existence. The Merchants Bank of Madi- 
son was organized in 1856, and commenced business 
in July. A. A. Bliss, of Ohio, and C. T. Flowers 
were president and cashier. The Wisconsin Bank of 
Madison, with M. D. Miller, President, and Noah 
Lee, Cashier, was also organized in 1856. The Bank 
of Madison began in April, 1860, with a capital of 
$25,000. The president was Simeon Mills, and the 
cashier, J. L. Hill. The First National started into 
vigorous existence in December, 1863. The board of 
directors consisted of L. B. Vilas, S. D. Hastings, N. 
B. Van Slyke, George A. Mason and Timothy Brown. 
The directory of 1866 only showed four banks in op- 
eration: The Farmers' Bank, the First National, the 
Madison, and the State Bank. Many of the leaders 
had entered into new combinations; some had disap- 
peared altogether; N. B. Van Slyke had become pres- 
ident of the First National. The State Bank retained 
its first president, but procured a new cashier, L. S. 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 339 

Hanks, who still remains. The Farmers' Bank had 
offices next door west of the State Bank, and J. 11. 
Slavan was its cashier. Brainard's city directory foi- 
ls 75 showed a total of five banks, comprising in addi- 
tion to two of the four last named, the German Bank, 
on King street, near Main, the Bark Savings Bank, 
and the State Savings Institution, the last of which 
has since ended in disaster. The Bank of Madison 
failed for a considerable amount. The loss fell heav- 
ily upon all classes because of the faith reposed in the 
financial strength of some few names. The banks 
now operating in the city are, The First National, 
with a capital of $150,000; the president, N. B. Yan 
Slyke, deserves mention for the care with which he 
has presided over the finances of the State University; 
The State Bank, with President Marshall and Cashier 
L. S. Hanks; The German Bank of J. J. Suhr, on 
King street, and The Park Savings Bank, which com- 
menced in November, 1871, and has transacted a busi- 
ness quite as large as circumstances warranted the 
proprietary in anticipating. Capital, $50,000. The 
president is Dr. J. B. Bowen, and the cashier, Dr. Jas. 
E. Baker, the offices being at the corner of Washing- 
ton avenue and Pinckney street, in a handsome block, 
the property of Dr. Baker. 

The time in which banks were dreaded by the poorer 
class and distrusted by the leaders of public opinion 
has, we may hope, passed for ever. Failures are inev- 
itable; misfortune will overtake individuals; but the 
banker per se is one of the most useful citizens. He 



140 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

is the medium by which wealth, which would other- 
wise be wastefully hoarded, can be brought from its 
hiding places to multiply the riches of a nation. 

The post-office, once a small log house, is now one 
of our handsomest buildings. The United States 
courts are held in the same elegant structure, on the 
third floor. Business keeps pace with increased ac- 
commodation. There are 2,400 boxes in the post-office. 
The offices of the United States marshal; the asses- 
sor and collector of internal revenue; the pension 
agent; as well as those of the clerks of courts, the 
judges and the postmaster, are conveniently grouped 
under one roof. The structure forms one of our il- 
lustrations. Postmaster E. AV. Keyes has marked 
individuality. For eight years he has served as 
chairman of the Republican State Central Committee 
with such good fortune, that, when recently assailed, 
his vindication was welcomed by men of every class. 
Upon his return from Washington, his welcome home 
was an ovation in which judges and others, dissevered 
from him in political life, bore a conspicuous share. 
Mr. Keyes studied law under George B. Smith, and 
is a member of one of our most respected legal firms. 
His father was a pioneer of note in the early days of 
Wisconsin. Madison must feel pleased that the ex- 
ecutive ability of the party which has so long con- 
trolled the state has, from the beginning, been vested 
in a prominent Madisonian. 

The factories and business houses can only be briefly 
mentioned. Breckheimer, Fauerbach, Eodermund, 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 143 

Hausmann and Hess are the brewers; there are five 
carriage and wagon building firms; two bookbind- 
eries; four book and job printers, English, and one 
German; seven carpenters and builders; one distiller 
and rectifier; thirteen dry goods houses; two express 
agencies; five furniture warehouses and factories; two 
founders and three machinists; three grain dealers; 
thirty-three grocers; six dealers in hardware; twen- 
ty-six hotels, including the Park, the Yilas, the Cap- 
itol and the Kasdall, which are the principal in the 
order in which they are named ; the Madison Mutual 
and the Hekla are home insurance companies, and 
there are many agencies; there are four livery stables 
well appointed; manufacturers of and dealers in to- 
bacco are six in number; there are fifteen merchant 
tailors; two omnibus lines; three daily papers, five 
weekly, one tri-weekly, one semi-monthly, and four 
monthly; we have one plow manufactory; two mak- 
ers of pumps and windmills ; one reaper factory ; two 
sash, door and blind factories; two restaurants and 
thirty-one saloons; a soap and candle factory; a ste- 
reotype foundry; a soda water factory, and the Madi- 
son Woolen Mills. We have in all 450 business 
houses. The city has not reached the limits of its 
prosperity. Our agricultural resources are boundless, 
and the water powers have not been utilized to more 
than a tithe of their capacity. One man, whose name 
carries weight, says that we must not look to manu- 
factures for a success, which will come much more 
surely and speedily to Madison as a watering place, 



m 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



"With proper deference, we look to both sources for a 
great prosperity in the future. The beauty of Madi- 
son is unsurpassed, but she must also grow rich by 
her factories. 

The railroads in operation are, the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee and St. Paul, and the Chicago and North- 
western. The traffic is extensive. The demand for 
hotel accommodation is so large that years since that 
fact was advanced as a reason why the government 
should be located elsewhere. Several prominent citi- 
zens procured the incorporation of a company to 
erect and furnish the elegant building which is now 
our leading hotel. The enterprise was completed in 
1871, being opened in August. The Park Hotel ar- 
rangements for the comfort of visitors have not been 
surpassed in the west, and for the number and varie- 
ty of beautiful views from every window, the whole 
world hardly contains its superior. The first lessee, 
Mark II. Irish, commenced his tenancy in August, 
1871, ending in the corresponding month of this 
year. He has been succeeded by Mr. A. II. "West. 
The extensive frontage on Main street is ninety-five 
and on Carroll street one hundred and sixteen feet. 
The building consists of four stories above the base- 
ment, and is seventy feet high, built of Milwaukee 
pressed brick, containing one hundred and eighteen 
sleeping rooms, twelve private parlors, one reception 
room for ladies only and one for ladies and gentle- 
men, a general dining room and a ladies ordinary, 
general and private offices, bathrooms and suites of 



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HISTORY OF MADISON. 145 

apartments with bathrooms attached. It is no dis- 
paragement to the other hotels in the city to say that 
the Park is the best. Capital, sufficient for such a 
building, could only be obtained by cooperative effort, 
and the support afforded from the beginning has 
been quite satisfactory. Mr; D. K. Tenney says, 
very wisely, as to the charms of this locality: 
" Madison and its surroundings are the handsomest 
on the face of God's green earth. This is our capi- 
tal and should be turned to profitable account. JSTo 
other place in the west possesses it. For all the pur- 
poses of pleasure seekers, for rest and recreation, for 
quiet, beauty and delight, for sporting and fishing, 
for sailing and swimming, for the intoxication and 
relief of all the higher senses, Madison has no equal; 
none to approach her west of the sea side. Madison, 
says a writer, ' rises between her beautiful lakes, like 
a gem pillowed on the bosom of a queen.' But 
thousands who ought to know our attractions are ig- 
norant of them. Twenty years ago, Madison was 
written up, and people were acquainted with its 
charms but could not get here. A dozen fresh crops 
of tourists have sprung up since who have never 
heard of us; a new crop is on the road every year. 
Thousands would come to us for recreation, and 
spend their money here to the reviving of every chan- 
nel of trade and prosperity." 
10 



1-iG HISTORY OF MADISON. 



CHAPTER X. 

SCHOOLS, LITERATURE AND ART. 

Those who came to build the capitol and make 
homes in its vicinity were mainly from eastern states 
where they had enjoyed the advantages of school 
training. Many had taught school, and it was a pri- 
vation to he removed from books and other intellect- 
ual delights. Schools for the young were provided in 
due time, but the first want was an association for 
adult culture. Whist, euchre and " old sledge," were 
diligently pursued by skillful amatuers, who straddled 
a fallen tree all Sunday, engaged in that absorbing oc- 
cupation; but the pasteboard ministers of pleasure 
would not supply all demands. The pioneers estab- 
lished a debating society with stated meetings, chosen 
subjects formally announced, and a regular organiza- 
tion, that afforded better employment for leisure. The 
log shanty sleeping room in the park, already named, 
thirty feet by twenty, w T as the hall in which the week- 
ly tournaments of wit and wisdom were provided. 
The club house athenaeum was a popular rallying 
place, and few lyceum courses have proved more inter- 
esting. There were no attractions elsewhere to mil- 
itate against the popularity of the movement. The 
summer of 1837 saw the debates in full swing, and 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



147 



they continued until November, when all the work- 
men except Darwin Clark were paid off. During 
the winter there were no meetings, because the de- 
baters and audience had cone to Milwaukee, and the 
understandings of the minority were exercised in a 
dancing academy, the members of which celebrated 
Madison's first New Year, with two days devotion to 
Terpsichore. The zeal of the devotees may be gathered 
from the fact, that on the second day, shoes were dis 
pensed with. Mr. Turveydrop would perhaps have 
found fault with such freedom of deportment. 

There was a renewal of the debating society in the 
spring of 1838, and many new members joined. 
"Work did not absolutely cease the next winter, and 
the meetings continued. When the legislature held 
its first session in the village, home talent in the log 
shanty was pitted against imported eloquence, in the 
frozen capitol, and the more dignified assemblages 
were not always the winners. Sheriff Childs stirred 
up Morrison's pigs in the basement of the capitol, to 
drown the voices of some of his associates, but in the 
little athenseum, there was choicer music, as well as 
more courtesy. The leaders in literary debate were not 
called on to compete with vivacious porkers. There 
was an idle time in the summer of '39, work was 
scarce, and the weekly meetings tended to become per- 
manent clubs, for retailing stories. Some of the mas- 
ter spirits of the " Thousand and one " were on hand. 
One of the latest efforts under the old auspices was 
George Stoner's interesting lecture on phrenology, il- 



118 HISTOEY OF MADISON. 

lustrated by phenomena. The lecture was published. 
The lecturer may again be heard from. His younger 
brother, James Madison Stoner, was the first white 
boy born in the village. The Madison Institute was 
an outgrowth of the minds that originated the debat- 
ing society, an intellectual successor. Incorporated 
in 1853, its rooms were in Bruen's block, now 
Brown's; and the leading paj:>ers and magazines with 
some few books were procured for members and visi- 
tors. The winter of '51-5, was signalized by a course 
of lectures in which Horace Greeley, James P. Lowell, 
Bayard Taylor, Parke Godwin and John G. Saxe ap- 
peared. The library had then one hundred volumes, 
and other collections made up a total of about 13,000 
in the hands of the state, the executive, the univers- 
ity, the state superintendent, the historical society, 
the agricultural society, the natural history associ- 
ation, the district school, and Mr. Draper, the inval- 
uable collector and corresponding secretary of the 
historical society. The library of the Institute has 
largely increased, and is now located in the city hall, 
where it is open every afternoon, and on Saturday 
evenings. Some years have elapsed since the last 
course of lectures was undertaken by the society, and 
it is time to fix a date for resumption. 

The first schools have been named elsewhere. Miss 
Pierce taught the girls in a building near the site of 
Dean's Block in 1840. There were then only thirteen 
pupils in the village. Mr. Searle opened his school 
for boys in 1839, and was succeeded by Mr. William- 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



149 



son. David Brigham, <Tas. Morrison and Burk Fair- 
child, as school commissioners in December, 1841, set 
off school district No. 1, which was subsequently en- 
larged, including a wide area besides the village of 
Madison. In the next year, Mrs. Gay opened a select 
school for young ladies. Two years later, the public 
schools were so crowded that tuition was . kept up all 
the year to meet the demand. Four months had been 
the maximum. David H. Wright was the first teacher 
to carry out the extended term. The school room had 
a kind of shelf, called a gallery, on which the smaller 
pupils were placed when the more advanced scholars 
required the floor, and ventilation, on any principle, 
was neglected as an extravagance. Miss Smedley 
taught during 1845, and a larger building was found 
indispensable. The " Little Brick," school house on 
Butler street was a palatial structure in its day, but 
that also became too small. Jerome R. Brie-ham and 

o 

Royal Buck taught there in succession for three years. 
Madison Academy had been incorporated, the village 
made a school district, and soon afterwards the pre- 
paratory department of the state university was opened 
by Prof. Sterling. The first graded school dates from 
1850, with Jas. L. Enos, principal, at a salary of $30 
per month, and Mrs. Church had control of the 
primary. Damon Y. Kilgore, superintendent, urged 
an increase and improvement of school accommoda- 
tion in 1855. There were 1,600 persons of school age 
in the district, less than half of whom were attending 
school. Three grades were established by the board, 



150 HISTORY OF' MADISON. 

and there has been no material change since. The 
school board and trustees could not agree as to an 
authorized outlay of $10,000, and plans for new 
schools languished; but two years afterwards, Mr. 
Kilgore reported eleven schools employing fifteen 
teachers, the number eligible for tuition being nearly 
two thousand. School houses in the First and Third 
wards were finished and others sanctioned, but the 
money difficulty stood in the way. High school was 
taught in the old Congregational church, employing 
eight teachers for 133 pupils. That institution was in 
better quarters in 1860, but was then discontinued for 
want of funds, and for the same reason the summer 
term of the ward schools was abandoned. Miss 
Cones procured the use of the building and furniture 
from the board, and, at her own risk for a time, con- 
ducted a high school for young ladies. When Prof. 
C. II. Allen asked the city to provide better school 
training in 1863, there were nearly 2,000 of school 
age in the district beyond the number in average 
ittendance. High school was reopened with about 
one-third of its former total, and soon afterwards the 
Fourth ward school house was commenced. State 
Supt. McMynn pronounced that building " the best 
in the state," and the Second ward was supplied with 
a like structure on the same plan. The school house 
in the university addition was finished in 1870. 
Three years later the high school on Wisconsin 
avenue was erected on the old site, and is much 
praised; but modern science suggests the desirability 




j&BOSOM eiTV MDGM SCHOOL. 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 153 

of more floor space and less stair climbing for all 
pupils, but more especially for girls, as more im- 
portant than architectural beauty. Widely extended 
buildings of only one story, would not be so orna- 
mental as the average of our school, buildings, but 
they would be easier warmed and ventilated, and the 
results, in a physiological sense, would far outweigh 
every other consideration, among the best informed. 

The High School is at present under the direction 
of Professor Shaw, whose efficiency as Superintendent 
of the city schools is a matter for the school board as 
well as our citizens to be specially proud of. The 
denominational schools connected with the churches 
of St. Raphaels, St. Regina and the Holy Redeemer, 
deserve special mention. There are excellent private 
schools, whose merits can only be glanced at. R. F. 
George is the principal of the Commercial School on 
Wisconsin Avenue and Johnson Street, and the North- 
western Business College in Ellsworth's block, of 
which Messrs. Wilmot, Demming & Boyd are propri- 
etors, are schools of high standing. Add to these 
several institutions the college just opened by the 
Norwegian church in the old Farwell residence, and 
it will be seen that the sum total of facility for tui- 
tion in this city is scarcely excelled by any other 
place of its size in the Union. 

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Let- 
ters was originated by a convention in the state agri- 
cultural rooms in February, 1870. The purposes 
aimed at are explained by the title, and the spirit in 



164: HISTORY OF MADISON. 

which the work has been prosecuted, justifies the as- 
sumption that " the foundations may be laid for an 
institution that shall be of practical utility, and a last- 
ing honor to the state." The transactions of the acad- 
emy have been published by votes of the legislature, 
and among the many valuable papers are some that 
would do honor to any institution of the kind; but 
which would hardly commend themselves to the di- 
rectors of the daily press as popular reading, from the 
recondite matter introduced. Madison has given a 
large proportion of the officers of the academy for the 
current year. Professor Davies of the State Univer- 
sity is General Secretary; Prof. S. IT. Carpenter, 
Yice President for Department of Speculative Philos- 
ophy; Dr. J. W. Hoyt, Yice President for Depart- 
ment of Fine Arts; Gen. Geo. P. Delaplaine, Treas- 
urer; C. N". Gregory, A. M., Librarian; and E. T. 
Sweet, M. S., Director of Museum. 

The State University has added largely to the ag- 
gregate of literary culture, for which our city stands 
preeminent. It is our purpose to name some of the 
more prominent among our men and women of letters, 
briefly noting their contributions, and it is due to the 
University that we begin with a sketch of its accom- 
lished president. John Bascom was born in Genoa, 
K. Y., on the first day of May, 1827, as we learn from 
" Durfee's Biographical Annals of Williams College." 
He is consequently now in his fiftieth year. Having 
fitted for college at Homer Academy, N. Y., he en- 
tered " Williams " in 1845, and graduated four years 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 155 

later. Severe study, and the necessity to teacli while 
pursuing his course as a student, weakened his visual 
organs, as in 1853 he partially lost the use of his eyes 
so that he was dependent on others for his reading, 
and for five years sight was not fully restored. Stead- 
fastly pursuing his studies, Mr. Bascom graduated at 
Andover Theological Seminary in 1855, and was 
called to the professorship of rhetoric in Williams 
College. In the year 1858, he published a work on 
" Political Economy," to which his mind had been 
specially directed, while serving as tutor at Williams 
College in 1852-3. Four years later his second book 
appeared, a treatise on "^Esthetics," followed in 1865 
by a volume on "Rhetoric," and in 1869 by "Psy- 
chology," a work treating one of the most engrossing 
subjects of modern thought. " Science, Philosophy 
and Religion" in 1871, the " Philosophy of English 
Literature " in 1871, and the *' Philosophy of Re- 
ligion" in 1876, may be taken as evidences that the 
lesson of five years in semi-darkness has not been 
construed into an excuse for taking things easilv. 
The university duties devolving upon President Bas- 
com are onerous, but they do not exhaust his mental 
force, and the superfluous energy of the scholar finds 
expression in additions to our literature, such as will 
cause the name of the writer to be remembered in 
future years. President Bascom is a diligent con- 
tributor to some of our leading quarterlies. 

Prof. R. B. Anderson has long been a successful 
author. His graphic work, amplified from a lecture, 



156 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

"America not discovered by Columbus," won recog- 
nition on both sides of tlie Atlantic. It is now out of 
print, but a new edition is demanded, and may be 
looked for shortly. " Norse Mythology " has gone 
through its second edition, and a third is in the press. 
" Viking Tales of the North " is just out, and the de- 
mand attests the author's reputation. Besides these 
works, by which Mr. Anderson is best known in this 
country, he has produced many pamphlets and larger 
works in the Norwegian tongue, including "Jule- 
gave," or " Yule Gift," and " Den Norske Maal-sag," 
or "The Norse Language-Question." His transla- 
tion from the Swedish of the " Handbook for Char- 
coal Burners," a combination of prize essays on the 
subject, has attracted much attention. Mr. Anderson 
is professor of the Scandinavian languages, and libra- 
rian of the State University, in which capacity lie has 
twice visited Europe, and will repeat the tour shortly, 
as a member of the Congres des Americanistes, which 
will assemble in the Duchy of Luxembourg. The 
professor is a lecturer of considerable merit, hon- 
orary member of the Iceland Literary Society, partici- 
pating in all the publications of that association, Scan- 
dinavian editor of McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia, 
and of Kiddle & Scheni's Educational Cyclopedia; 
and has been appointed to deliver a course of lee 
tures on Norse literature, at the Peabody Institute, 
Baltimore, in December, 1877. Circumstances have 
brought the professor in contact with many of 
the world's most renowned scholars and poets, 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 157 

such as Max Miiller and Whitney, Bjornson and Long- 
fellow, and his collection of autographs is most inter- 
esting. 

Prof. W. F. Allen was associated with T. P. Allen 
in producing the " Handbook of Classical Geography," 
in 1862, and with Chas. P. Ware and Lucy McK. Gar- 
rison in a volume of " Slave Songs," in 1867. In 
1870, Mr. Allen produced an " Introduction to Latin 
Composition." Joined with Jos. H. Allen, in 1868 
and 1869, he wrote a " Manual of Latin Grammar," 
" Latin Lessons " and a " Latin Reader," and during 
the current decade, associated with Jos. H. Allen and 
Jas. B. Greenough, has added to our literature six 
works on Cicero's Select Orations, De Senectute, Sal- 
lust's Catiline, Virgil, Ovid and Caesar. Prof. Allen 
ranks among the most prominent Latin scholars in 
America, and is a constant contributor to The Nation, 
North American Review, and other such publications. 

Prof. S. H. Carpenter was born at Little Falls, Her- 
kimer County, 1ST. Y., and at the age of twenty-one 
graduated in Rochester University, receiving from 
that institution in 1855 and 1871, the degrees of A. 
M. and LL. D. The professor commenced his career 
in our State University as a tutor in 1852, and has 
been identified with the interests of education ever 
since. His publications can only be glanced at, but 
their titles are descriptive : " Education a Mental 
Possession," "The Moral Element in Education," 
" Education a Necessity in a Free Government," " The 
Evidences of Christianity," " University Education," 



158 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

"The Drama," "An Address to the State Teachers' 
Association," " The Relations of Skepticism to Schol- 
arship," " Conflict between the Old and the New Ed- 
ucation," "Metaphysical Basis of Science," "Relation 
of Educational Institutions," " Philosophy of Evolu- 
tion," " Industrial Education," " The Educational 
Problem," "Historical Sketch of the University," 
" Our National Growth," and still unpublished an 
address on " The Duty and Difficulty of Independent 
Thinking." Prof. Carpenter's " English of the Four- 
teenth Century," and " Introduction to the Study of 
Anglo Saxon," cannot fail to li^e as standard works; 
and he has translated from the French of Emile de La- 
veleye, "The Future of Catholic Nations" and "Po- 
litical Economy and Socialism," besides contributing 
largely to periodicals of the highest type. 

Dr. James Davie Butler, LL. D., was born in Rut- 
land, Yt., and graduated at Middlebury College at 
twenty-one. Having studied theology in Yale and 
Andover, he next became a traveler in Europe, Asia 
and Africa, extending his researches into Polynesia 
by visiting the Sandwich Islands. Returning to his 
alma mater, he became a tutor in Middlebury College, 
and, in succession, professor in Norwich University, 
Wabash College, and in our University, in all, about 
eighteen years. He officiated as a Congregational pas- 
tor at Wells River, Yt., Peabody, Mass., and at Cincin- 
nati, O. He has published " Armsmear," a memorial 
of Col. Colt; " Letters From Abroad," which appeared 
in Boston, New York, Cincinnati, Chicago and Mad- 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 159 

ison, and valuable papers in Kitto's Cyclopedia Bihli- 
otheca Sacra, Quarterly Register, and in connection 
with the American Institute and our State Historical 
Society. The professor is well known as a lecturer, 
and his occasional sermons are always listened to with 
profound interest. 

Lyman C. Draper, A. M., LL. D., has rather aimed 
at preparing material for future historians, than at 
becoming a writer of books; but he has won for him- 
self the title of " The Western Plutarch." His atten- 
tion was earlv directed to the want of efficient collec- 
tion, which prevented masses of facts, once well known, 
from beino; authenticated for historical use, and much 

CD 

of his life has been devoted to the rectification of that 
class of errors. Circumstances have aided him^in 
some degree in becoming acquainted with notabilities, 
and his personal reminiscences of La Fayette, De 
Witt Clinton, Gov. Cass, Chas. Carroll, Daniel Boone, 
and others equally celebrated in their several spheres, 
would make one of the most readable volumes of the 
day. His collection of MSS. is certainly the most 
valuable in the west, and in the hands of a skillful 
writer, might be wrought into works of engrossing 
interest and great literary value. Mr. Draper has 
seen service in the field; has been justice of the peace 
in Northern Mississippi, editor of a newspaper, farmer, 
and since his removal to this state, has been identified 
with the State Historical Society, as we have else- 
where recorded. As state superintendent of public 
instruction, his labors deserve honorable mention. 



160 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

His published works consist of pamphlets and school 
reports, evincing much research, the seven volumes of 
collections of the Historical Society with valuable 
notes, " The Helping Hand," a work in which Mr. 
Croffut assisted, and two works are now ready for the 
press; one, in which Mr. Bntterfield was his colaborer, 
entitled "Border Forays," and, though last, not least, 
" The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence," a 
book full of careful compilations on the daring asser- 
tion of independence enunciated at Mecklenburg, N. 
C, more than twelve months prior to the time from 
which we date our centennial. 

Dr. J. W. Hoyt, A. M., M. D., LL. D., is already 
known to our readers as editor of " The Wisconsin 
Farmer" but he has served the state in numerous 
other capacities. "Worthington, Ohio, was his place 
of nativity, and in that state he was Professor of 
Chemistry and Medical Jurisprudence in the Cincin- 
nati College of Medicine, as also, at a later date, Pro- 
fessor of Chemistry and Natural History in Antioch 
College. The doctor was Secretary of the "Wisconsin 
State Agricultural Society: was founder and President 
of the Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, besides 
holding many other appointments of honor and use- 
fulness, which defy enumeration. His services to the 
State University alone would require more space than 
we have at our disposal for this brief notice. His 
works consist of thirteen annual reports of the State 
Agricultural Society, and other reports on the re- 
sources and progress of "Wisconsiu; on the London 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 161 

International Exhibition; on the Paris Exposition 
Uni'versellej on the Railroad Commission; as chair- 
man of the National University Committee; a work 
on "University Progress;" and numerous mono- 
graphs, industrial, educational and scientific. The 
doctor has a well stored mind, and its resources are 
ever at his fullest command for the work of the hour 
and the age. 

Mr. H. A. Tenney has figured in many other chap- 
ters of our history, and he must not be forgotten 
among our authors. To him are due the earliest 
sketches extant of Dane and Pierce counties, and in- 
numerable contributions preserved by the State His- 
torical Societ}*. He has been a Wisconsin man from 
a very early date. He has now almost ready for the 
press, a volume on "Early Humor in Wisconsin," 
which should have a good sale. 

D. S. Durrie, whose unobtrusive labors in the 
State Historical Library have been too little noticed, 
deserves more than a passing mention. He has long 
filled the position of Librarian. His works consist 
of the "Bibliography of Wisconsin;" "Early Out- 
posts of Wisconsin;" "Bibliographic Genealogy of 
America;" "The Steele Family;" "Holt Geneal- 
ogy. » u Utility of the Study of Genealogy; " " His- 
tory of the Four Lake Country;" and parts of the 
"History of Wisconsin;" of Iowa and Missouri. 
Mr. Durrie compiles with faithfulness, and has a con- 
science in his literary labors. 

C. W. Butterfield was born in July, 1824, and has 
11 



162 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

prosecuted Lis literary labors with much good for- 
tune. His principal works are the " History of Sen- 
eca County," Ohio; "A System of Grammatical and 
Rhetorical Punctuation;'' "Crawford's Expedition 
against Sandusky, in 1782; ' : and in conjunction 
with Mr. Draper, Mr. Butterfield has produced "Bor- 
der Forays." A new edition of Crawford's Expedi- 
tion may be expected shortly. His " Washington 
Crawford Letters," have just appeared. 

Bev. J. B. Pradt has long been a resident in this 
state. He has issued ten volumes of the Wisconsin 
Journal of Education, from 1860 to 1865, as editor 
and publisher, and from 1871 to the present time, as 
co-editor and publisher. Mr. Pradt has also assisted 
in issuing eight annual reports of the Department of 
Public Instruction; and an edition of the Constitu- 
tions of the United States and Wisconsin, with his- 
torical notes, questions and glossary. 

Bev. Ames C. Pennock came to Wisconsin in 1844, 
and four years later, joined the M. E. Conference, 
preaching in this state and in Minnesota until 1862, 
when in consequence of impaired health, it became 
necessary to abate his labors. Mr. Pennock has had 
experience as a farmer, merchant, agent, author, 
editor and newspaper correspondent. He is now a 
publisher of books as well as a writer. His mind 
revels alike in poetry and prose, and those who have 
encountered him in theological controversy will long 
remember the event. He has published a brief, but 
very exhaustive work, on " The Fall and the Rescue 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 163 

m 

of Man; " also recently issued " The Problem of Evil, 
or Theory and Theology," and has written a volume 
of poetry. 

Professor JSTicodemus has now ready for the press a 
translation of "Weisbach's Engineer," a work of 
admitted value, which cannot fail to be recognized as 
a standard production. The translation from the 
Swedish, by Professor Anderson, of Svedelius' 
" Handbook for Charcoal Burners," was edited by 
Mr. Nicodemus, who contributed copious notes from 
the writings of acknowledged authorities. Many 
articles in the published proceedings of the Academy 
of Sciences, Arts and Letters are due to his industry, 
and other additions to our current literature might 
be given, were it necessary to complete the catalogue. 

Prof. Searing, superintendent of public instruction, 
was one of the faculty of Milton College, in this state, 
prior to his election to the office now worthily filled 
by him. His published works consist of an address 
on the " Character of Abraham Lincoln," delivered 
shortly after the assassination of the martyred presi- 
dent, and a school edition of Virgil's Eneid. The 
great success of the book last named, led to the pre- 
paration of an edition of Homer's Iliad, which was 
nearly ready for publication when Mr. Searing was 
elected. In consequence of his call to the unsought 
honor, the book has not yet seen the light, but its ap- 
pearance may be anticipated shortly, and its success 
looked upon as assured, so great and well applied has 
been the labor, and so exceptionally elegant will be the 



164 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

illustrations. Prof. Searing deserves high honor for 
tlie strenuous personal efforts by which he has earned 
his own advancement in the department of letters. 
His official services have been properly noticed else- 
where. His career has been highly meritorious, and 
substantially successful; he is yet only on the thresh- 
hold of his literary eminence. 

Mr. John Y. Smith, who wrote a history of Madi- 
son, in brief, for one of the earlier Directories, was a 
writer of great force, and fineness of intellect; but 
want of space precludes a becoming notice of his 
merits. 

Col. Slaughter has been frequently mentioned in 
our pages, and it remains only to say that as a writer, 
he is a gentleman of high repute. He is now engaged 
on a series of Wisconsin Biographies, which will 
widely extend his fame. 

Jas. R. Stuart is a native of South Carolina, where 
his forefathers settled in the first half of the eighteenth 
century, hence probably his adhesion to the " lost 
cause " for which he fought. His scientific training 
was procured in Harvard, his first instruction in art 
in the studio of Joseph Ames of Boston. After some 
years of school teaching in Savannah, he was enabled 
to prosecute his art studies in the academies of Mu- 
nich and Carlsruhe. Mr. Stuart came to Madison in 
1872, and many of his pictures have commanded ad- 
miration. Judges Dunn and Paine, in the supreme 
court rooms, are from his studio, and he has also 
painted Gen. Allen, of Oshkosh, Judges Miller, 



HISTORY OF MADISOST. 165 

Smith and Jonathan E. Arnold, of Milwaukee, besides 
others whose names could not be given without ex- 
press permission. The fineness of touch for which 
Mr. Stuart is justly praised does not detract in any 
degree from the faithfulness of his presentations. 

It may be thought that the ladies should have been 
preferred to the gentlemen in noting the literary and 
artistic workers in this capital; we propose always to 
keep the more precious to the last. Miss Ella Au- 
gusta Giles, authoress of " Bachelor Ben," and " Out 
Erom the Shadows," has been honored with copious 
notices in metropolitan journals accustomed to wield 
the scalpel of criticism with little mercy. Her books 
survive such scrutiny, and further contributions from 
her pen may be anticipated. Miss Giles has now 
assumed the role of editress of the Milwaukee Maga- 
zine, which with the commencement of the coming 
year will put on a new dress, and become much more 
widely known as the " Midland." 

Mrs. Sara C. Bull has recently entered the field of 
literature, and has already established for herself a 
brilliant record by her excellent translation of Jonas 
Lie's " The Pilot and his Wife." The leading peri- 
odicals on both sides of the Atlantic are loud in their 
praises of Mrs. Bull's book, and indeed she has chosen 
for translation a novelist whose pictures of Norse life 
cannot be surpassed. They are like the music of Ole 
Bull played by Ole Bull himself, or like sky rockets 
that burst in the zenith and fall in gentle showers of 
fiery rain. The Pilot and his Wife is already in its 



166 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

second edition, and more books may soon be looked 
for from Mrs. Bull's pen. 

Miss Ella Wheeler lias won triumphs as an author- 
ess in this city, and her residence in Dane county ena- 
bles us to include her name among the Litterateurs 
that adorn the history of Madison. The young poet- 
ess came before the public first in New York in 1873, 
when " Drops of Water " was the significant title of 
her work. During the same year, and almost at the 
same time, her second book " Shells" was being pub- 
lished in Milwaukee,. so that east and west were alike 
doing homage to her genius. " Maurine," her third 
production, has evoked much friendly criticism, but 
we believe that " The Messenger," a piece published 
by Harper and Brothers, New York, will hardly be 
excelled by any of her later productions, bright and 
telling as they prove. 

Miss Wilhelmina Fillans, an artist of considerable 
merit, has been already referred to as occupying a 
suite of rooms in the capitol; but since that mention 
was made, Miss Fillans has removed to other quarters. 
The lady comes of a family of artists, and her skill is 
beyond question. Many of her paintings grace the 
homes of Madison, and her modelings are no less fine. 
Among which are a life-sized bust of Judge L. S. 
Dixon, and Chief Justice E. Gr. Ryan of the Supreme 
Court room, and also a crayon portrait of Gov. Taylor 
for the Agricultural rooms. 



HISTORY OF MADISOX. 167 



CHAPTER XI. 

MADISON HOMES. 

Our title would justify a long chapter, but the limits 
allotted to our lucubrations have been reached, and we 
deny ourselves the pleasure of communicating to our 
readers many interesting details compiled with care. 
It would be strange if the charms of scenery, which 
have been praised by all observers from every part of 
the Union; which determined the location of the Cap- 
ital and its retention here; and which won the ad- 
miration of the Antocthonous mound builders so com- 
pletely, that they abode here for several centuries 
until war drove them out; had not induced many of 
our private citizens to erect elegant residences and 
almost palatial homes. 

ELM SIDE. 

A little removed from the business portion of the 
city, about one mile southwesterly from the State 
Capitol, is located what is known as " Elm Side."' In 
location it possesses a most charming view of both 
lake and city, and is the splendid residence of Dr. J. 
B. Bowen. The house is accurately represented by 
an engraving on another page. It is built of the 
light colored Madison stone, and is a substantial and 



168 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

elegant structure, being finished in modern style, and 
supplied with modern conveniences. Connected with 
this charming residence, is a choice farm of sixty 
acres of excellent land — forty acres of which are un- 
der a high state of cultivation, and the remaining 
twenty acres constitute an extremely fine meadow. 
Much care has been bestowed upon this place, with a 
view to making it a most charming and inviting 
home. Many of the native oaks have been permitted 
to stand in all their sturdy grandeur; and over one 
hundred elm trees were planted on the premises six- 
teen years ago; they have grown luxuriantly, and now 
possess extreme grace and beauty. The elms — al- 
ways handsome — on this place, have been so care- 
fully trimmed, as to add special dignity and grace to 
their natural beauty. Taking everything into con- 
sideration — the native charms and the adornments 
added by man — this is one of the most delightful of 
the many elegant Madison homes, to persons desir- 
ous of living a little out of the city. It is such a 
home as cannot fail to give rest to its occupants, as 
they return to it, after the weary business hours of 
the day have passed. And who is better entitled to 
such a home, than are Dr. Bowen and his estimable 
family? It is now over twenty-five years since he 
located in Madison, without means and a stranger. 
lie has acquired a fine property and hosts of friends. 
He was the pioneer in the practice of homoeopathy in 
Dane county; has labored incessantly and successfully 
in building up a reputation and in accumulating a 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 171 

fortune; lias served ably and faithfully as major of 
Madison; and the numerous patrons who have re- 
ceived benefits from his treatment will rejoice in his 
complete success, and in the fact that, in his palatial 
residence, he enjoys, in a high degree, the pleasures 
and sweets of substantial home comforts. Pie de- 
serves them all. 

The old prejudices have been well nigh removed 
in this vast caravanserai of nations and peoples, and 
every man who comes well vouched for, finds a home 
that may be made as happy as his first. 

Society in Madison has been largely made up of 
men who have represented other parts of the state in 
some capacity, and coming here, have been tempted 
to prolong a temporary sojourn into a life residence. 
Men who can command the suffrage of their fellows 
must, as a rule, possess some excellence. The congre- 
gation of such minds makes a city a metropolis. The 
state officers make their homes in Madison and are, as 
a rule, handsomely lodged. The city officials include 
not a few who began adult life in this settlement, and 
have grown up with their surroundings, accumulating 
wealth with sound ideas as to life's enjoyment. The 
same may be said to a large extent of other officials, 
and it is still more true of our professional classes. 
The development of elegant tastes has resulted in 
beautifying this city until it challenges comparison 
with others of like dimensions and wealth, certain 
of victory. 



172 HISTOKY OF MADISON. 

The masonic fraternity dating its claim on human 
regard from Solomon's temple, and the fidelity of the 
Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, has three blue lodges, 
one Royal Arch Chapter, one Council, and one Com- 
mandery in this city. Brethren of the mystic tie 
make the five points of fellowship a sober reality in 
this region, and where the hailing sign becomes neces- 
sary, there is never a lack of response to the call. 
Labor and refreshment are alike regarded as sacred 
duties, and free and accepted Masons who understand 
the golden rule of life make the society which they 
tincture a desirable place of abode. Masonic Lodges, 
and the celebrations arising therefrom, were among 
the earliest social gatherings in this community, and 
they retain preeminence. Other organizations founded 
on the same general idea of brotherhood have a large 
aggregate of members. The Temple of Honor is also 
represented. Sons of Temperance abound in good 
works; and Good Templars are more numerous than, 
and as well organized, as the Templars of old time. 

The Odd Fellows have two Lodges and one En- 
campment ; the Druids have a Grove ; the Germans have 
a Scheutzen Club, a Msennerchor, a Dramatic Society, 
a Turn Yerein, a Literary Society and other associa- 
tions. There are also a Grand Army of the Republic; 
a County Bible Society and other affiliations so num- 
erous in connection with the several churches, that no 
person desiring fellowship can long remain a stranger. 
The city has innumerable attractions for every variety 
of taste. That must be a strange intellect that would 




1 ^e&GP.OA-^^M. 



R@SEBA.PCK GQ)TTft6i. 



IIISTOEY OF MADISON. 175 

find nothing congenial in the numberless societies 
that open their circle to the worthy; nor any objects 
of interest in the vast collections' in the rooms of the 
Historical Society, the Agricultural Association, and 
the Academy. The schools and churches have been 
named in their order, but their social value as organ- 
izations would deserve whole pages of comment and 
laudation. Our illustrations must afford some faint 
idea of the architectural beauty of this city, and the 
discreet reader will argue from the less to the greater. 
The University overlooking Lake Mendota tells its 
own story. Lake Monona, and the vessels of the 
Yacht Club furnish a handsome picture. One church 
must stand as the representative of many. The streets 
and principal stores are not entirely wanting in our 
illustrations. The view of Lakeside over Monona is 
beautiful as a scene in dreamland. The old house of 
Eben Peck, long since torn down, reappears as it 
stood in 1837. The view of the Post Office and City 
Hall, with Lake Mendota in the distance, is a charm- 
ing representation which, in a general way, will give 
the distant observer an idea of the capital of Wis- 
consin. The presentation of the Capitol itself comes 
as near as the circumstances will permit to a repro- 
duction of the original; and but that the expense 
would have been such as to have largely increased the 
selling price of the work, it would have been a pleasure 
to have completed the pictorial circle, so that the 
artist's pencil and graver might have done justice to 
beauties which the skill of the writer fails to present 
in adequate language. 



176 HISTOEY OF MADISON. 



CHAPTER XII. 

VISITORS AND THEIR PLEASURES. 

Pursuit of health has brought thousands to this 
city, who have found hygienic conditions not often 
combined. Beauty is a large element in relieving the 
pressure of nervous complaints by calling attention 
from real and assumed disorders. That charm is 
here in the superlative degree, and, in addition, a 
mild and salubrious atmosphere. There are exquisite 
nooks for bathing, and enclosures in which art has 
assisted nature in making the pellucid waters attract- 
ive, so that swimmer and nonswimmer can enjoy the 
health giving plunge. The amateur fisherman could 
hardly find better sport than here, and while patiently 
waiting for a bite, his eyes can feast on beautiful im- 
pressions, which can never be effaced. The lakes in- 
vite rowing and sailing; the shores unfold new at- 
tractions with every change, and steamboats make ex- 
cursions with modest speed, lest visitors should not 
enjoy the landscape inclosing the crystal gem. Citi- 
zens propose to improve the drives which girdle the 
city and lakes. One suggests a road round Fourth 
Lake, following the shore, which would give u a 
drive of twenty-five miles, absolutely unrivaled for 
beauty." A second proposition contemplates a new 




(Or Third Lake) 

LOOKING TOWARD MADISON. 



12 



HISTORY OF M.ADISOH. 179 

lake shore drive of five miles, to the charming site of 
the State Hospital for the Insane, and there is good 
hope that the idea will be realized. The beautiful 
university drive is likely to be extended to Picnic 
Point. There are rural retreats, easy of access from 
this capital, which shut out the city, yet within an 
hour's transit, all the advantages of social science 
and material advancement can be reached. Visitors 
are attracted by our university and pleased with our 
graded schools. The church spires pointing to the 
stars challenge admiring notice. The railroads and - 
postoffice, with always increasing facilities, and the 
telegraph wires by which the world is girdled, bespeak 
the obedient spirit of science, more apt than the fabled 
Ariel. The Capitol, whose form of beauty compels 
-admiration as soon as the eye lights on Madison, 
offers substantial evidences of civilization connecting 
us with the great world which we daily miniature. 
Here, in the several libraries, are choice books, news- 
papers and periodicals; the best works of juriscon- 
sults; the treasures of common and civil law, ex- 
pressed essences of knowledge from the days of 
Justinian to our own; and by their side the liveliest 
essays of magazine contributors, separating them from 
works of profound historians and scientists. On the 
desks are our best newspapers, in many respects the 
foremost in the world, filled with vigorous assaults of 
partisan editors, who anticipate the final cataclysm 
unless their measures and their men are sustained; 
yet reassuring us by the news flashed along the wires, 



180 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 



through mid air and under the sea, which, in reveal- 
ing the condition of every country on the earth, from 
New York and London to Japan and "Far Cathay," 
unfold the fact that a thousand such jeremiads daily 
reach the limbo of nonfulfillment. 

It has been objected that our population of ten 
thousand has not originated a line of steamboats that 
will compare, for beauty, power and convenience, with 
the Atlantic glories of Cunard or White Star; but the 
Scutanawbequon and the new screw steamer Men- 
dota, possess names that rival the finest on the sea, 
and our boats, if not numerous and large as the Span- 
ish armada, are equal to the occasion. 

The names of celebrities who have visited us, as 
revealed by the books of the Park, the Yilas House, 
and the Capitol, would fill a volume, but few would, 
peruse the record. Prince Napoleon, who passed 
through our city to Saint Paul, accompanied by his 
beautiful wife, the daughter of Victor Emanuel, II Re 
Galantuomo, as Garibaldi named him, could hardly 
be considered our visitor, for he and his suite were 
closely cooped within locked doors, during the stay, 
but that could not prevent a cheer of welcome before 
the distinguished Prince parvenu moved on. It is 
more to our purpose that such men as Secretary Sew- 
ard and Charles Francis Adams have been our guests, 
and raised their eloquent voices to infuse their spirit 
into the people. The balcony of the Yilas House, 
and the eastern steps of the capitol had on that day 
immense assemblies. Frederika Bremer was for 




ANQLEWQRM STATION. 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 183 

months a delighted visitor to our city and lakes. 
Louis J. D. Agassiz, the eminent Swiss naturalist, of 
whom Whipple says : " He is not merely a scientific 

thinker, he is a scientific force The immense 

influence he exerts is due to the energy and geniality 
which distinguished the nature of the man. lie in- 
spires as w r ell as performs; communicates not only 
knowledge, but the love of knowledge." He was an 
appreciated and appreciative visitor, and many in this 
city can testify to those truths from personal experi- 
ence, who grieved as for a dear friend when Agassiz 
died. The magician Ole Bull, whose wand is the 
wonder working bow, has on the shores of those lakes 
a home, to which the demands of a music loving 
world make him a rare visitor; but when leisure on 
this side of the Atlantic permits, he can forget Ole- 
ana in the witcheries of this region. The praise be- 
stowed upon Ole Bull by Longfellow in his " Tales of 
a "Wayside Inn," beggar any tribute that we could 
render. We content ourselves with claiming the dis- 
tinction that belongs to Madison. Horace Greeley 
and Bayard Taylor visited us as lecturers ; during the 
same season Jas. Russel Lowell, Parke Godwin, John 
G. Saxe, and other national celebrities were with us, 
and their appreciative words are treasured. Sumner 
lectured here on the question, "Are We a Nation?" 
Gen. Sherman was with us as the guest of Col. Rey- 
nolds, when the famous " March to the Sea" was the 
topic of all talkers; and Philip Sheridan, not less 
famous for his dashing exploits with cavalry. 



1S-A HISTORY OF MADISON. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

MOUNDS, MONUMENTS, CAVES AND RELICS. 

We live surrounded by monuments which point to 
the almost forgotten past, telling of our remote prede- 
cessors, the mound builders. The site occupied by 
our city was for a prolonged term, thousands of years 
ago, the abode of a people whose semi-architectural 
remains connect them with the civilizations of Aztecs 
and Toltecs, in Mexico and Central America. The 
Teocallis or temples, and the P'ueblos or village 
houses, preserved by the more enduring character of 
their materials, in some cases, as at Palenque, Copan, 
Uxmal, long buried in impassable forests, are the 
wonder of the explorer; our monuments are only less 
complete. "Where the central building of our State 
University stands, was a large mound crowning the 
eminence, but necessity compelled its removal. In 
other supremely beautiful positions, such mounds, all 
that remain of more extensive erections, bespeak 
identity in taste and judgment between the aboriginal 
occupants and ourselves. St. Louis was once called 
Mound City, because of the large number of emi- 
nences standing where that city unfolds her vast pro- 
portions. There are mound cities in many of the 
states. Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, among oth- 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 1ST 

er cities indicate like agreement with tlie building 
of this city upon a spot on which the mound builders 
congregated. That fact is repeated in almost every 
large town in the Mississippi valley. Napoleon told 
his soldiery that from the pyramids, four thousand 
years looked down upon them ; and not forgetting the 
words of Fuller, that those structures, " doting with 
age, have forgotten the names of their founders," it 
seems probable that this continent had an older civili- 
zation than that of the Ptolemies. Possibly this was 
the first habitable land then connected with Europe and 
Asia, and the home of a people who never dreamed of 
submergence by the barbarism, which has omitted to 
preserve, where it has not expunged their records. 
There are strange agreements, and variations ho less 
curious, between some of the Egyptian structures and 
our mounds. Should the sands that flow on that land as 
the sea once rolled over Sahara, ebb back from the 
works which they partially cover, more significant 
resemblances might appear. We find no traces to 
determine the relationship between the people, unless 
the Ethiopians from Arabia Felix were the founders 
of both civilizations; but the likeness and unlike- 
ness of their works afford evidences that similar ideas 
prevailed in the same or succeeding cycles in widely 
distant quarters. The discovery of America by Co- 
lumbus, and by his predecessors, the Norsemen, are 
affairs of yesterday, compared with the primitive oc- 
cupation to which the mounds bear testimony,, dat- 
ing from thousands of years before the Christian era. 



138 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

Settlements in this region must have been large, so 
great were the remains that had defied " the tooth and 
razure of oblivion," until onr civilization, with build- 
ings and cultivation of the soil, made demolition 
rapid. Animal shaped mounds were here first noted. 
Dr. Lapham wrote on this subject to the papers in 
1836; subsequently, Mr. Taylor communicated to the 
American Journal of Science, describing eminences 
with outlines of man and the lower animals, at dis- 
tances ranging six, ten and twelve miles from the 
four lakes. So marked were the differences between 
our mounds and those in other states, that many con- 
cluded they were relics of a distinct race; but inves- 
tigation showed agreements between the structures 
that dot the country from the great lakes to Mexico 
and Central America. Some of the curious mounds 
in this region that were in existence at recent dates, 
or are now, may be mentioned; but a complete record 
will not be attempted. Visitors coming to explore, 
will find no lack of indications to put them on the 
track of discovery. Dr. Lapham, assisted by the re- 
sources of the Antiquarian Society and the Smith- 
sonian Institution, omitted surveys which would have 
been as interesting as any in his " Antiquities of 
"Wisconsin," and Messrs. Squier and Davis, in the 
" Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Yalley," 
were similarly unable to complete the catalogue. 

A great mound on State street was used grading 
the hollows in that locality. Near Lake Monona, ad- 
joining Ex-Governor Fairchild's residence, was a liz- 




NtVig, ftW'LS ftffCB eRftOELifg. 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 191 

arc! 318 feet long. The figure was rude, but not more 
so than was inevitable, considering that the mound 
was formed of surface soil, nobody knows how many 
centuries ago. It was removed in grading "Wilson 
street and Wisconsin avenue. The mounds near the 
Hospital for the Insane are too well known to require 
description, and moreover, too numerous. North of 
Lake Wingra there were many mounds, embodying 
specimens of almost every variety, except works for 
defense. Five of them were oblong, twenty seven 
circular, one circular with lateral projections, one a 
bird, and two quadrupeds. Every writer on this sub- 
ject is indebted to the surveys made by Dr. Lapham, 
whose work adorns the shelves of the Historical 
Society, with those of other authors who have made 
mounds their specialty. The south angle of Third 
Lake has extensive and regular works, in rows paral- 
lel with the ridges, occupying ground that slopes 
from the lake, like the seats in an amphitheatre. 
Back of these mounds is another, uniting the forms 
of a bird and a cross. At the foot is a sandy ridge 
having twenty-four elevations, on some of which ad- 
ditional eminences appear, representing animals. The 
twenty-four elevations may have been accidental, but 
they do not bear that appearance. The animal-shaped 
mounds upon them are clearly artificial. Dr. Lap- 
ham noticed a modern grave on one of the eminences, 
and on another the poles of an Indian wigwam, but 
no Indian can give an idea as to the origin of the 
mounds. The third volume of Bancroft's " United 



192 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

States " contains a suggestion from Prof. Hitchcock 
that accident and natural action would account for 
many supposed antique works. There are earthworks 
that will not admit of any such explanation, and numer- 
ous circumstances connected with the majority are con- 
clusive as to human ingenuity aiding their construc- 
tion. Probably some of the twenty-four mounds 
were natural elevations, others having been added. 
All of them were covered with soil, and forest trees 
were growing on some of them when Dr. Lapham 
wrote. A ridge of land near the margin of a lake 
might be ascribed to the frosts of succeeding 
winters, but no such action could produce a series of 
mounds. The First, Second and Fourth Lakes have 
eminences that will repay inspection. 

The world-famous " ancient city of Aztalan " de- 
mands greater space for description than can be afford- 
ed. The visitor cannot do better than spend a portion 
of his time in the rooms of our Historical Society, con- 
sulting the volumes mentioned and others yet to be 
specified, after which he will undertake inspection more 
intelligently, with much increased pleasure. Nothing 
short of actual examination can give an adequate idea 
of those earth-works. Between Williams' Bay, on 
Lake Geneva, and the head of Duck Lake, overlook- 
ing both waters, is a mound representing a bow and 
arrow, aimed at Lake Geneva. The span of the bow 
is fifty feet, the work, finely outlined, is in proportion. 
Lake Koshkonong skirts Dane county, miscalled 
Dade, in the " Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi 



HISTOKY OF MADISON. 193 

Valley," and the mounds in that locality have been 
visited by President W. C. Whitford, of Milton Col- 
lege, and Mr. W. P. Clarke. The party cut through 
some mounds, and were repaid by relics of great ar- 
chiac value. A skull of excellent type was removed 
by them, and many fragments of pottery similar to the 
debris in the remains of the Pueblo Indians, besides 
tools, ornaments and weapons, which will reward a 
visit to the college. Some of the mounds have been 
used for sacrificial purposes, and others for burial, 
but whether originally constructed for those purposes 
must be matter of conjecture. Residence, fortifica- 
tion, burial and worship have been served by the 
mounds in varying proportions. 

Assume a common origin for Mound builders, 
Aztecs and Toltecs, an affiliation which becomes easy 
now that the mounds have been traced to Mexico, and 
we can comprehend the purposes for which many of 
those elevations were prepared. In Mexico, and along 
the line by which the Mississippi valley mound builders 
must have migrated if they reached or departed from 
the magnificent cities of Palenque and Uxmal, there 
are wrecks of dwellings in advanced stages of decay, 
which illustrate the service rendered by the founda- 
tion mound. The earthworks were floors on which 
were erected the pueblos, supposed by the Spaniards 
to be palaces of nobles, attended on by armies of de- 
pendents; but in reality, common abodes, in which 
whole cities, towns or villages found lodgment, pur- 
suing customary avocations, living together in com- 
13 



194: HISTOKY OF MADISOX. 

munistic equality. Some of those buildings would 
accommodate five hundred, in others five thousand 
could find room. The mound, sometimes faced and 
covered with stone, was itself a fortification, difficult 
of access, unless the visitor was aided from within. 
The platform being reached, the assailant, supposing 
war to be his object, found himself confronted on 
three sides by buildings, each story receding from the 
building line beneath, so that a stage remained avail- 
able for defense. The edifice could not be battered 
down, the enemy possessed no artillery ; could not be 
set on fire, it was faced, and to a great extent con- 
structed with stone; could not be stormed, there 
were no doorways and stairs, the upper floors being 
reached by ladders and window entrances, which could 
be made unapproachable. "Within that fortification 
the Pueblo Indians found safety against aboriginal 
war; and from windows and stages, as well as from 
occasional apertures for defense, missiles could be pro- 
pelled with deadly effect. We find the floors of such 
buildings scattered through the valley of the Missis- 
sippi, but the vast deltas not being prodigal of stone, 
wooden buildings or mud walls were substituted. 
These materials decaying, the mounds alone remain. 
The ISTatchez Indians lived in houses of wood erected 
on mounds, which may have been their own handi- 
work, or that of long forgotten predecessors, when 
Tonti and La Salle observed their worship of the sun, 
and other indications of Mexican fellowship. The long 
house of the Iroquois, in which the tribe lived in com* 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 195 

mon, with a fireplace for each family, shows that 
there may have been a time when nearly all were one 
brotherhood, acquiring customs since modified by cir- 
cumstances, never wholly changed. The Teocallis or 
Temple mounds, of which there are many examples, 
had also crowning edifices. Features of resemblance 
remain where compatible with the partial use of per- 
ishing materials. The truncated pyramids approached 
by graded ways, and the final stages upon which sac- 
rifices were offered, continue, because their constitu- 
ents are little subject to decay. Professor C. G. 
Forshey followed those works with minute annotation 
through the Mississippi valley, and the reader can 
find the results in "Foster's Pre-Historic Races." 
Many of the mounds support trees estimated at from 
four hundred to a thousand years old. Capt. Jona- 
than Carver was first to invite attention to the mounds 
in the great valley, having examined works of defense 
near Mount Trempealeau. He also discovered the 
cave of Wakan Tebee, since destroyed by railroads, 
which had hieroglyphs or pictographs on its walls. 
Much that pertains to this subject is omitted. Our 
book can be little other than a fingerpost, pointing to 
localities and monuments that will not permit of 
enumeration. The undeciphered hieroglyphs on 
Gales Bluffs, near La Crosse, are monuments that 
will not serve their purpose until the signs have de- 
livered up their meaning. Sun dried bricks, bearing 
impressions of the hands of workmen; clay that 
served as a casing for a great man defunct, bearing 



196 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



similar impressions of hands that shaped it over the 
corpse, preparatory to the burning which gave the 
consistency of brick; the burnt clay that is found 
mixed with charred straw, in the works at Aztalan; 
the ornaments of copper, silver, obsidian, porphyry 
and green stone, the tools and weapons by which men 
sustained themselves and little ones, are of the high- 
est interest. The telescopic tube of stone, with which 
the mound builders examined the heavenly bodies, as 





PORPHYRY, 



GREENSTONE. 



appears on a Peruvian relic, showing a figure carveci 
on silver, bespeaks high civilization. The stone bat- 
tle axes found at Kenosha; stone hatchets from Cot- 
tage Grove, from Green Bay, and from our immedi- 
ate surroundings, are replete with human interest, be- 
cause full of mystery from an age unknown. Some 
day we may master the problem which, sphynx like, 
demands solution, as to the tumuli systematically 
raised, enclosed in mathematical figures and lines of 



HISTOKT OF MADISON. 197 

circumvallation, builded by men wlio were conversant 
with mining operations, who could procure their own 
cojjper from the matrix, as well as shape it into artis- 
tic forms; who wove cloth probably when the lake 
villages of Switzerland were first settled; who could 
prepare designs in stone and clay, expressing thoughts 
that approach the sublime, and evince a comprehen- 
sion of the beautiful; yet have fallen below the realm 
of history, leaving to generations now remotely fol- 
lowing them, the task to discover "Whence came 
they ? " " "Whither did they go ? " 




By the kindness of S. C. Griggs & Co., the well 
known publishers, we present engravings of earth- 
works and other relics of the Mound Builders from 
"Foster's Pre-Historic Races," a book which should 
be in the hands of every thoughtful reader. The 
Mound Builders could not be omitted from our rec- 
ord, but a complete statement within our limits is im- 



198 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

possible, and it affords us pleasure to refer the stu- 
dent to the fascinating pages of Foster. The works 
at Marietta were examined by Lyell in 1842. On 
that spot Dr. Hildreth saw a tree which showed eight 
hundred rings of annual growth. Prior to that time 
President Harrison had written a memoir, which 
went to show, that thousands of years must have 
elapsed from the first formation of the mound before 
such growths were possible. Every circumstance con- 
nected with the mounds points to a remote antiquity. 
Illustrations of utensils, weapons, tools and orna- 
ments, might have been indefinitely extended, but 
enough has been given to suggest the degrees of civ- 
ilization attained by the builders and occupants of the 
mounds in the Mississippi valley. The times in 
which they flourished cannot be safely computed, but 
Dr. Dowler found a skeleton at New Orleans, for 
which he claims an antiquity of fifty thousand years; 
and Agassiz gives an estimate of ten thousand years, 
at the least, as the age of human remains in Florida. 
The wondrous transmutations witnessed by this con- 
tinent cannot be better illustrated than by the fact 
that the fossils of our rocks alone, reveal the form of 
the ancestors of the horse and ass; although there 
were no horses on this continent when the Spaniards 
landed in South America, save those which were 
brought by the invading soldiery. 

Enough as to our predecessors, although enough 
has never yet been said. We turn to other features 
of interest. Eleven miles a little to the south of 



HISTORY OF MADISON. 



199 



west of Madison, in the ridge dividing the valley of 
Sugar river from the lake country, is a wonderful 
cave, which unlike the " cave of the Great Spirit," 
liscovered by Captain Carver, has not been destroyed 




§IPMLGKR&L URNS. 

by railroads. The basin of a lake covering an area 
of four thousand acres, discharged its volume ages 
since into the bluff by which it was bounded, and has 
worn the channel into a series of chambers and pas- 
sages, which have been penetrated two thousand feet 



200 HISTORY OF MADISON. 

by explorers, who do not know the extent of the cav- 
ern. There is no lake to fill the basin, nor has it 
been ascertained where the waters found egress 
below. The Four Lakes are five hundred feet be- 
neath the level of the basin, and Sugar river flows at 
a distance of about a mile and a half; but nothing 
indicates that the riparian current is augmented from 
the old lake level. Explorers, with proper appli- 
ances, will find within the cavern a field for romantic 
adventure and curious observation. The grotto opens 
in the upper magnesian limestone, beneath which a 
stratum of sandstone has been reached, and the action 
of the water cannot have failed to shape vast halls, 
which imagination may people with gnomes, fairies 
and dwarfs, sufficient for unnumbered nursery sto- 
ries. The entrance is obstructed by debris, but four 
narrow passages remain; within, is a succession of 
chambers, ornamented by stalactite and stalagmite, 
that glisten in fantastic shapes when torches are in- 
troduced. Yoices of visitors can be heard distinctly 
on the ground overhead, the roof is in some parts 
much attenuated. After a storm, when the waters 
have been dammed back from underground fissures, 
the air escaping, roars like a steam whistle. It is 
probable that fossil remains may be found in the 
many storied cavern, sufficient to fill our museums. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 



Dane county is situated about the center of the state running 
east and west, or midway between Lake Michigan and the Missis- 
sippi river, about twenty-four miles north of the southern line of this 
state and Illinois. In the north it is bounded by Columbia and Sauk 
counties, on the south by Rock and Green, on the east by Dodge 
and Jefferson, and on the west by Iowa, the Wisconsm river cross- 
ing the northwest corner, dividing it from Sauk. This river has 
its source in the Lac Vieux Desert, on the Michigan state boundary, 
runs south to Portage, thence west to the Mississippi river, almost 
equally dividing our state, and draining in its course an area of 
11,900 square miles. The county is forty-two miles from east to 
west, thirty miles from north to south, with an area of 1,235 square 
miles, thirty-five of which is covered with water of the lakes. There 
are thirty-five townships of thirty-six square miles each, except the 
townships of Black Earth and Mazomanie. The latter has eigh- 
teen square miles, and the former thirty. Its latitude is 43 degrees 
north, and longitude 89 degrees west, from Greenwich. The State 
University is one mile due west from the State House, and its geo- 
graphical position is latitude, 43° 04' 33" 1-10 north; longitude, 89° 
24" 03' 3-10 west of Greenwich. The State House is located on 
sections 13, 14, 23 and 24, town 7 north, range 9 east. The normal 
condition of the barometer is twenty-nine inches, as compared with 
the sea level, where it is thirty inches. 

The county is famed for its pre-historic collections, there being 
few of its towns that are not able to exhibit some evidences of the 
people who long ago made our county a favorite resort for the build- 
ing of their mounds, which whether intended as places of inter- 
ment or as fortifications for protection, is as yet comparatively un- 
certain, though evidences are strong in favor of both hypotheses. 
- The county was the home of a branch of the Winnebago Indians, 
and considerable trading was earned on between them and several 
Indian traders, among whom were Michael St. Cyr (a Canadian 
half-breed), Joe Pelkie, Oliver Armell (Canadian French), Abel Ras- 



204 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

daH, Wallis Rowan,* and Albert Wood (Americans), as well as sev- 
eral others. Rowan was the only one who had a white wife. 

In 1836 it was set off from the west part of Milwaukee and east 
part of Iowa county; it received the name of Dane county from Gov. 
Doty, in honor of Nathaniel Dane, who, in 1787, introduced the cele- 
brated ordinance for the government of the northwest territory. In 
1839 it was organized as a separate county. 

The principal lakes in the county are First — Kegonsa; Second — 
Waubesa; Third — Monona; Fourth — Mendota; and Dead Lake or 
lake Wingra. They are about 210 feet above the level of Lake 
Michigan, and about 797 feet above the Atlantic ocean. 

The origin of the* above names cannot be better explained, 
especially as there exists a slight difference of opinion on the subject, 
than by presenting to our readers the following communication 
from Hon. Simeon Mills, one of our early settlers, whose intimate 
connection with the civil history of Madison will be deemed good 
authority, while the interesting facts supplied by Hon. Lyman C. 
Draper, of the State Historical Society, will be read with an ap- 
proved evidence of the steady research he gives all such subjects : 

THE POUR LAKES — HOW THEY WERE NAMED — BY SIMEON MILLS. 

These beautiful sheets of water, the pride of Wisconsin, centrally 
located in Dane county, occupying part of five different townships, 
and stretching out, from northwest to southeast, a distance of about 
twenty miles, were probably called " The Four Lakes " for the same 
reason that the principal divisions of the year are called the "four 
seasons," because they are four in number. Just when or by 
whom the southeasterly one was named First Lake, and the 
northwesterly one Fourth Lake, does not at this day seem quite so 
apparent. 

In Mr. Tanner's map of this part of the northwestern territory, 
which was probably the first map ever published showing these 
lakes, they are neither named or numbered, but the stream connect- 
ing them is called the "Gooshcahon." 

When I located in Madison, in 1837, the lakes were then known 
as First, Second, Third and Fourth lakes, and the outlet the Cat- 
fish, and were not known or called by any other names for more 
than ten years thereafter. I was informed by Mr. Abel Rasdall, an 
Indian trader then living on the east side of First Lake, that the 
Winnebago Indians had no other names for the lakes but numbers, 

* This was the Wallis Rowan who found Lieut. Force's watch. Pass- 
ing across the prairie between Poynet.te and the City of the Four Lakes, 
where he formerly resided, he found the remains of an Indian, whose bones 
the wolves had picked clean, and giving the debris a kick, turned up the 
watch. Having no use for it he sometime afterwards offered to sell it to E. 
M. Williamsou, Esq., who declined purchasing until satisfactory proof was 
obtained that none of Force's relatives existed. The fact, however, reaching 
the ears of the friends, application was made and the watch obtained. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION". 205 



just as we called them, and gave me the Indian names for one, two, 
three and four, but which I remember only as harsh, gutteral 
sounds, that I cannot now repeat; and his idea was that they were 
so numbered and named by the Indians. I was afterwards informed, 
upon what appeared to be good authority, that the lakes were first 
named by numbers by the surveyors who ran the township lines 
in this portion of the territory, and the way in which it was done, 
being given at the time, was conclusive evidence to my mind that 
the statement was correct. As the survey was commenced on the 
south line of the territory and carried north, the southeasterly or 
lower lake was reached first, which thus became No. 1, and as the 
survey advanced the second, third and fourth were reached and 
numbered in their regular order. In this view of the case, it seems 
to me probable that the Indians learned these numbers or names 
for the lakes from the surveyors, which Mr. Easdall found in use 
when he came among them, and that this numbering was not, as 
he supposed, of Indian origin, the location of Mr. R., on First Lake, 
being some time after the survey was made. 

In 1849, I employed a young man from Philadelphia by the name 
of Frank Hudson, to survey and plat what is known as the Univer- 
sity Addition to Madison. Mr. Hudson was very fond of reading, 
devoting much time to such works as gave accounts of the habits 
and customs of the natives, and wlide thus engaged, he found in 
some Indian legends the names of Monona and Mendota (perhaps 
having an origin akin to Winona and Hiawatha), and he at once 
suggested that the lakes each side of Madison be christened with 
those charming names. This suggestion was generally approved, 
and a bill was prepared for the purpose of giving these names to 
the Third and Fourth lakes the sanction of law; but inasmuch as 
we did not readily find any names suitable or acceptable to give the 
First and Second lakes, the matter was dropped at that time, but 
Monona and Mendota were adopted by general use. 

Some years later the subject of giving Indian names to all the 
lakes was again renewed, and the names of Kegonsa and Waubesa 
were found and adopted by Gov. Farwell and others then taking an 
interest in the matter, as very pretty and appropriate names for the 
First and Second lakes. To make the christening in such a public 
and formal manner as to give it dignity and command respect, a 
bill devoting an entire section to each lake, the more firmly to attach 
its chosen name, was prepared, introduced into the legislature, and 
became a law on the 14th day of February, 1855; and by the 5th 
section of the same act, " Catfish " was blotted out., and Yahara le- 
galized as the name of the small river upon which these lakelets are 
strung like jewels on a cord of silver. 

These names have now become familiar to all, and I can see no 
reason why they were not as well selected, as appropriately applied, 
and may not be as enduring, as if the christening- had been done by 
the wildest savage that ever shouted his war whoop or raised a lodge 
pole upon their varied borders. 

Gen. Mills' explanation of the application of the names of Mo- 
nona and Mendota to Third and Fourth lakes, needs only to be 



206 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

supplemented with the origin of those of Kegonsa and "Waubesa 
applied to First and Second lakes, together with their significations. 

Some time in 1854, Governor Farwell, when preparing a map of 
Madison and the Four Lake Country, subsequently published, ap- 
plied to Lyman C. Draper to aid him in determining appropriate 
names for each of these beautiful sheets of water. The Indians de- 
nominated them collectively Ty-cho-be-rah, or the Four Lakes;* to 
which it is reasonable to suppose they applied numerical names; 
else, as in all other instances, they would have given some other 
specific appellation, which would have been handed down to the 
first settlers. 

Mr. Draper examined such Indian vocabularies as he had hi his 
library, and ascertained that Mendota, which had been applied to 
Fourth lake, was a Chippewa word, signifying large or great;f and 
being a pretty name, and appropriately significant, was rightly 
judged most proper to remain. The signification of Monona, ap- 
plied to Third lake, does not seem to have been found in any of the 
limited Indian vocabularies consulted; but Gov. Farwell, or perhaps 
Col. A. A. Bird, had understood that it substantially meant "Fairy" 
or "Beautiful Water;" so that also remained unchanged. 

As no special Indian names were known for First and Second 
Lakes, it was deemed advisable to select appropriate designations. 
First Lake, as the outlet of the others, was regarded as good fishing 
ground, on the southeastern bay of which, the Winnebagoes, in 
early times, had a small village ;\ so it was concluded to call it "Fish 
Lake," if some euphonious Indian name could be found having that 
signification — Kegonsa was found to have that meaning.! Gov. 
Farwell remarked that the only thing for which Second Lake was 
noted, was that an unusually large swan had formerly been killed 
there; and the word Wau-be-sa was found to signify "Swan,"* and 
was accordingly adopted as a fitting designation. 

* Featherstonhnugh's Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor {Minnesota), 
and Account of (he Lead Mines of Wisconsin, in 1837. 

t Long's Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader, Lon- 
don, 1791, p. 267. S. R. Eigge 1 Dakota Dictionary gives the meaning of Men- 
dotu as the outlet of a lake. 

X Map of the Lead Mines, by R. W. Chandler, of Galena, 1830. 

I Mr. Draper, after a lapse of twenty-three years, does not recall the full 
authority for this; but Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, ii, 4«a, shows that Ke- 
go-e was the Chippewa word signifying fish; and it is sufficiently apparent 
that Kegonsa had its origin in Ke-go-e. 

* In Col. De Peyster's Miscellanies, published in 1811, this word is twice 
given as the Indian signification for swan, p. 83, and p. 272, probably Chip- 
pewa or Ottawa, as he had long public intercourse with those tribes during 
his command at Mackinaw, from 1774 to 1779. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 207 

Thus were placed upon this map of the Four Lake country in 
1866, of which not less than ten thousand copies were circulated hy 
the liberal hearted projector, the names of Ke-gon-sa, or Fish Lake, 
Wau-be-sa, or Swan Lake; Mo-no-nn, or Fairy Lake; and Men-do- 
ta or Great Lake. Let these euphonious and appropriate Indian 
names be perpetuated forever!* 

Wingra, or Dead Lake, lies southwest of Lake Monona, into which 
it dischargee its waters. It was known by the name of Wingra at 
the first settlement of the country, but its signification is un- 
certain, f 

Before the county became settled by the whites, the whole section 
of this country was deemed scarcely inhabitable. In a little book 
written by John A. Wakefield, Esq., who accompanied the troops 
that pursued Black Hawk in 1832, we quote the following as a 
sample of what was the opinion then entertained of this beautiful 
Four Lake country by those troops who accompanied Gen. Henry. 
After describing the thickets and swamps through which they 
passed from Rock river to the lakes, he says : 

" We were close to the four lakes, and we wished to come up with 
them (the Sacs) before they reached that place, as it was known to 
be a stronghold for the Indians. * * * We reached the first of 
the lakes about sundown, when Gen. Henry here called a halt, and 
consulted with Poquette, our pilot, as to the country we were ap- 
proaching. Poquette,who was well acquainted with the country, told 
him he could not get through it after night; that we had to march 
close to the margin of the lake for some distance, as the underwood 
stood so thick one man could not see another ten steps. * * * 
We soon discovered that the pilot had told no he, for we found the 
country that the enemy was leading us into worse, if possible, than 
what he had told us. We could turn neither to the right hand nor 
the left, but were compelled to follow the trail the Indians had made, 
and that, too, for a great distance at the edge of the water of the 
lake. * * * From a description of the country, a person would 
very naturally suppose that these lakes were as little pleasing to the 
eye of the traveler as the country is ; but not so. I think they are 
the most beautiful bodies of water I ever saw. The first one that 

* An effort was made by Col. A. A. Bird, when a member of Assembly in 
1851, to call the lakes "Doty, Catlin, O'Neal and Bird," in honor of some of 
the early settlers, but not meeting with encouragement from the member in 
the Senate, Hon. E. B. Dean, jr., the subject dropped. 

t Hon. Josiah A. Noonan, when he visited the site of Madisnn, in Febru- 
ary, 1837. learned from Joe Pelkie, the Indian trader, that Wingra meant 
Drick. This, however, is doubtful ; for the Winnebagoee, who lived in this 
region, were a family of the Dakota group, and the Dakota Dictionary shows 
no such word: and "the words for both duck and dead, have no resemblance 
whatever to Wingra, nor do the Chippewa or Ottawa vocabularies serve to 
throw any light on the subject. 



208 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION". 

we came to was about ten miles in circumference, and the water as 
clear as crystal . The earth sloped back in a gradual rise, and the 
bottom of the lake appeared to be entirely covered with white peb- 
bles. * * * The second one must have been about twenty miles 
in circumference; the ground rose very high all around, and the 
heaviest kind of timber grew close to the water's edge. If those 
lakes were anywhere else except in the country they are, they would 
be considered among the wonders of the world. But the country 
they are situated in is not Jit for any civilized nation of people to in- 
habit. It appears the Almighty intended it for the children of the 
forest." 

After reading the above we are forcibly reminded of the famous 
Morse telegram, "What hath God wrought!" "We can now look 
around on the city in its beauty and the many villages and hamlets 
scattered throughout this very land, once deemed so uninhabitable. 

The principal streams in the county are the Yahara, or Catfish ; 
Koshkonong, signifying The lake we live on, is a lake, or "spread" 
of Rock river, and Koshkonong creek a small stream rising in Sun 
Prairie and emptying into lake Koshkonong; Black Earth, named 
so from the color of the water ; and Sugar river, from the number 
of sugar maple trees found in the vicinity of its mouth* These 
streams furnish good water power for a large number of flouring 
mills and manufactures. 

A large amount of good stone, for building purposes, is obtained 
throughout the county. The cream colored stone used in the body 
of the United States' Postoffice, was obtained in the town of West- 
port, where the government purchased, and still retains possession, 
we believe, of the quarry from which the stones were taken. 

The highest point of land is one of the Blue Mounds, two conical 
hills about twenty-five miles west of Madison, and through which 
the county hues of Dane and Iowa run north and south, leaving the 
highest peak of the two cones in Dane, which is about 1,000 feet 
above the level of the Wisconsin river. The Indians called the 
mounds "Smoky Mountains," an account of a blue smoke or fog 
usually seen on the top, and which has given rise to the term Blue 
Mounds. The view from the top of these mounds is most mag- 
nificent. A distance of twenty-five to thirty miles can be seen from 

* It is supposed by some that this stream received its name from the gov- 
ernment surveyors in 1833. who were so delighted with the change fronrthc 
hitter marsh water they had been drinking that they named it Sugar river." 
but as some of the maps published in 1829 designates one location on the 
edge of the stream, in Green county, "Sugar Furnice," the inference is, as 
well as the testimony of the early settlers there, that the Indians called it 
"Su-ga, 11 from the above fact. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 209 

their tops, and the diversity of landscape is such as neither pen nor 
pencil can describe. 

The country is diversified by hills and valleys of the most pleasing 
character for beauty of landscape, and the soil is composed of black 
deposits of decayed vegetation, except in some few localities where 
there are clay and sand. The deposits in the valleys are often sev- 
eral feet deep, while on the tops and edges of hills it is several inches 
thick, being thus adapted to all kinds of agricultural purposes. 

In 1S40, the population of the county was 314 — 1850, 16,654 — 1855, 
37,714—1860, 43,992—1865, 50,192—1870, 53,096—1875, 52,798, 
which shows it to be the largest in population of any county outside 
of Milwaukee, as also being the largest tax-payer, with the above 
exception. The assessed value of property in 1846 was $50,319, and 
the tax $2,526, while in 1875 it was $19,546,438, and the tax $54,- 
705. The tax being more than the assessment of 1846. The 
bonded indebtedness of tire county for 1876, was $22,000. 

There are 123 churches, with a property valuation of $360,701.00. 
The school- fund apportionment for the county was, in 1876, $8,490.- 
69, and the number of children, 20,709. There are 206 school dis- 
tricts outside of Madison, which has eight school buildings. 

There are three railways that pass through the county, the first 
of which, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul (formerly the Mil- 
waukee and Prairie du Chien), enters on section 32, in the south- 
cast corner of the town of Albion, and then through the center of 
the county in a northwestern direction, leaving on section 18, town 
of Mazomanie — completed to Madison in 1854. One of the branches 
of this road, called the Madison, Sun Prairie and Watertown road, 
leaves Madison in a northeast direction, and the county on section 
12, in town of Medina — completed to Madison in 1868? 

The Madison and Portage road leaves Madison, and passes di- 
rectly north, leaving the county on section 1, town of Vienna — com- 
pleted to Madison in 1871. 

The Chicago and Northwestern road (formerly the Beloit and 
Madison) enters the county in the south, on section 31, town of 
Rutland, and passes directly north into the city of Madison, after 
which it runs in a northwestern direction, leaving at the junction of 
sections two and three, town of Dane— completed to Madison in 
1866. That portion of this road between Madison and Baraboo, 
before its completion to St. Paul,was known as the Baraboo Air Line. 

The county is an agricultural one (with limited mining in Blue 
Mounds), and as such, as well as in wealth and population, is not 

14 



210 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

surpassed by any other, but Milwaukee, in the state. Its rich lands 
and beautiful scenery are not eclipsed by any county of its size either 
east or west, and its future prosperity will be equal to its past, as its 
resources, hygiene and loveliness of landescape become known. 

On August 12, 1837, Simeon Mills was appointed the first justice 
of the peace in the county, and for sometime was the only 
one. The early pioneers had but few cases requiring legal prosecu- 
tion, and when any one broke any of the requirements of law he was 
taken to the jail, which was the grocery and bakery of a French 
Canadian named Frank W. Shaw (over which the sheriff, Nathan- 
iel T. Parkinson had his office), who was ordered to feed and treat 
him well, and then release him on parole. It is needless to add 
that there were none who violated their parole. 

In May, 1839, the first election for board of commissioners for the 
county of Dane was held at the American House, in Madison, which 
at that time was the only voting place in the county. P. B. Bud, 
I. H. Palmer and Simeon Mills were judges of election, Geo. P. 
Delaplaine and La Fayette Kellogg, clerk,when the following officers 
were elected : 

Simeon Mills, Eben Peck and Jeremiah Lycan, board of commis- 
sioners, and at their first meeting they elected LaFayette Kellogg, 
clerk; John Stoner, treasurer; Win. A. Wheeler, assessor; R. L. 
Ream, register of deeds; David Ilyer, coroner; Adam Smith and J. 
Ubeldine, constables; and ten days afterwards Gov. Dodge made 
the following appointments : John Catlin, district attorney; Isaac 
H. Palmer, judge of probate, N. T. Parkinson, sheriff; Isaac At- 
■wood, public administrator; Geo. P. Delaplaine, district surveyor; 
TV. N. Seymour, justice of the peace (in. place of Simeon Mills, re- 
signed); John T. Wilson, auctioneer. 

In tliis same year the county was organized for judicial purposes, 
Judge Irvin presiding as Judge of the Supreme Court of the Terri- 
tory of Wisconsin, with Simeon Mills as clerk. Mr. Mills held the 
office for nine years. He was also the last territorial treasurer, and 
the first state senator for Dane county. 

TnE first judges of election appointed by the board of commis- 
sioners were: Prosper B. Bird, Darwin Clark, James S. Patten, 
Prescott Brigham, John C. Kellogg and Sidney Carman. 

The first books and stationery for the county were purchased from 
S. L. Rood & Co., booksellers, stationers, publishers and binders, 70 
Jefferson avenue, Detroit, Michigan, and an order was passed to 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 211 

have the treasurer reimburse Simeon Mills for the amount paid by 
him for the same.* 

The first grand jury for the county and United States courts in 
Wisconsin territory, David Irvin, of the 3d judicial district, presid- 
ing, was impaneled on the 7th day of October, 1839, and consisted 
of the f ollowmg persons : 

George H. Slaughter, foreman, J. Lyman, Jr., W. T. Sterling, 
H. Lawrence, George Vroman, R. L. Ream, I. H. Palmer, W. W. 
Wyman, H. Fake, J. A. Noonan, I\ P. Bird, I. Atwood, A. Lull, 
D. Hyer, J. Stoner. 

The f ollowmg were on the list given, but were not impaneled: 
M. Blaker, J. C. Kelley, W. B. Long, B. Haney, andE. Brigham. 
They served two days and were allowed one dollar and fifty cents 
a day. Mileage was allowed only to two, and that only one way, 
as follows: George H. Slaughter, 14 miles, and H. Lawrence, 16 
miles. The distance traveled is recorded so honestly that the coun- 
ty was gainer then of nearly a mile. 

The first petit jurors were summoned on the 8th day of October, 

1839, but were discharged for want of a case. Their names are as 

follows : 

W. D. Spaulding, R. H. Palmer, P. W. Matts, H. C. Fellows, J. 
T. Wilson, W. Hoadley, C. H. Bird, Z. Bird, C. Lawrence, Darwin 
Clark, J. S. Patten, W. A. Webb, J. A. Hill, C. S. Peaslee, W. G. 
Van Bergen, J. Taylor, T. Jackson, J. Butterfield, W. N. Seymour, 
T. Perry and A. Smith. 

The sheriff, N. T. Parkinson, was allowed ten dollars for his ser- 
vices in summoning the jury, and six dollars for three days' attend- 
dance. 

The first indictment in the county was the United States against 
one Scoville, a fisherman, for obstructing a stream to prevent the 
passage of fish, dated October 9, 1839. 

The first in chancery, for foreclosure of mortgage, was A. A. Bird 
against Wm. Bevard. 

: * Sydney L. Rood, the senior member of the above firm, a few years after- 
wards removed to Milwaukee, where for many years he carried on the same 
business. Mr. Mills, recalling the conversation he had with him while pur- 
chasing the books, says he believes he was instrumental in inducing him to 
come to Wisconsin. He died in Milwaukee only two or three years ago. 
A memorable incident is connected with the purchase. Before concluding 
the sale, a cry of "fire ,1 was raised, and passing out of the store to where the 
alarm came from, Mr. Mills saw one of the splendid lake steamers in flames, 
and which burned to the water's edge. 



212 HISTORICAL INTKODUCTION. 

On September 30, 1839, a bounty of three dollars was allowed on 
every wolf's scalp that had been killed, but no legal charges al- 
lowed for making affidavit or certificate of the same, and again, on 
October 3d of the same year the order was amended so as to allow 
only one dollar for each scalp, while for the year 1841 no bounty 
was allowed, and only for six months of 1842, dated January 4th. 

On the 1st of July, 1839, in order to allay some contentment 
m regard to the assessments, the clerk of the board was authorized 
to alter the assessment roll so that first rate lands be valued at six 
dollars an acre, and second rate at four dollars, and town lots in ac- 
cordance with such changes as the commissioners deemed necessary . 

The first license issued in the comity was granted to Berry Haney 
and H. F. Grossman to keep a ferry across Wisconsin river, and 
dates August 5th, 1839. 

The tavern license in 1839 was, for Madison, $20, and for other 
parts of the comity, $ 12, while groceries were not allowed to sell 
less than one quart in quantities, and pay $30 for license. On De- 
cember 14, 1839, a license was granted to Wm. T. Sterling to keep 
a tavern for one year, and also to Lloyd and Nichols to keep a gro- 
cery for one year from December 1st to May 14, 1841. The board 
ordered peddler's license to be issued at $10 per year, and on 25th 
of June, Arabut Ludlow took out the first peddler's license for 
goods, wares and merchandise, for three months, and had the same 
renewed September 29th for six months longer. 

On the first settlement with the comity treasurer, John Stoner, 
January 5, 1840, the books showed the comity indebted to him for 
$55.96, and a final payment was not made to him until Jan. 8, 1841. 

The rate of county tax for 1839 was one mill on the dollar, for 
the year 1840, five mills and a half for county purposes, and one mill 
for school purposes. 

The first jail was built in 1839 by Nath. T. Parkinson, the first 
and then sheriff of the comity. It was built of square logs and 
was twenty-four feet long, eighteen feet wide, walls eight inches 
thick, one story high, divided into two equal apartments, and cost 
$1,348. It was located on lot number one, block one hundred and 
thirteen, near the site of the little brick school house, on Butler 
street. The lots were donated for county purposes by Messrs. Prit- 
chette and Mason, and the jail was the receptacle for insane persons 
as well as prisoners. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 213 

When the first circus came to Madison in 1844, people came in 
ox-teams from Sauk and surrounding counties, and brought with 
them then- provisions, also feed and hay for then- cattle, and camp- 
ed in a grove of burr oaks between the city and the university. 

The first castings made in our city were by Wm. A. Wheeler in 
the first blacksmith's shop on the corner of Butler and Johnson 
streets, block 111, and lot 18. Col. A. A. Bird assisted by blowing 
the bellows, and the casting was intended for some part of the new 
capitol' then building in 1837. 

The pigeon-holes used by John Catlin as first postmaster in Madi- 
son, were for a number of years in possession of E. M. Williamson, 
but who has recently donated them to the State Historical Society. 

The present State Capitol was completed in 1869; the City Hall 
in 1857; Insane Asylum built in 1860; the United States Court 
House and Post Office, 1870; the northern dormitory of the Uni- 
versity in 1851 ; the southern in 1855; the main building in 1859; 
the laches hall in 1870; and science hall in 1877. 

The present court house was built in 1850, the jail in 1853, the 
Register of Deeds and Clerk of the Court building hi 1855; the 
county poor house in 1856. 

Judge N. F. Hyer, for many years a resident in our county, was 
the first to discover and make known the interesting remains of the 
ancients found at Aztalan, and named the place after the Aztec 
race, who were supposed at one time to have lived there, as well as 
around that whole section of country. After the discovery, the 
judge wrote an article giving the plan and description of what ap- 
peared to him an ancient fortification, and so great was the interest 
created on the subject, that the article from first appearing in a 
Milwaukee paper, was copied throughout the United States and 
France. In the latter place, it was a subject of considerable discus- 
sion among the savans of Paris. The judge also for some years held 
the office of probate judge in Milwaukee, under the territorial 
legislature. He came to Mdwaukee in the spring of 1836, and as 
chief magistrate was called upon to preside as judge of election in 
the following fall, and though a young man at the time, he never- 
theless observed that of the six hundred votes cast, nine-tenths of 
them were by men younger than himself, which showed the class 
of immigration that was then coming into the Territory. He could 
count but forty roofs in the then infant city of Milwaukee, including 
barns and dwelling houses. 



2U 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 



Justices of the peace were permitted to assess the county with all 
the fees and costs connected with all criminal prosecutions, until 
1843, when the Board of Commissioners ordered that no fees would 
be allowed by the county, except such as the statutes provided for. 

The first woolen mill in the city was conducted by Allan Dawson 
and sons, Scotchmen, and was situated at the end of Williamson 
street, on the edge of the Catfish, block 237. It was burned to the 
ground about 1859. ■ 

The first blacksmith in the city and county, excepting Blue 
Mounds, was J. T. Wilson, who was also the first auctioneer. 

Wisconsin is becoming famous for its mineral springs, that are 
becoming much frequented by those suffering from clnonic diseases, 
for which mineral waters are found to be an excellent specific. The 
artesian well in our capitol park is 1,080 feet deep, and the mineral 
water obtained from it stands high for its curative properties. We 
give the following comparison as analyzed by Prof. Gustave Bode, 
analytical chemist in Milwaukee, Wis., between Waukesha, Prairie 
du Chien, Sparta and Madison : 



Bicarbonate of Lime — 
Bicarbonate of Magnesia 

Chloride of Sodium 

Sulphate of Soda 

Bicarbonate of Iron 

Silica 

Bicarbonate of Soda 

Total grains 



GRAINS PER GALLON. 



Madison 



8.120 
6.937 
0.671 
1.68S 

0.555 
1.45G 
1.956 



81.233 



Prairie 
du Ohien. 



0.6222 
10. 9739 
90.2007 
12.7978 

0.2318 
3 8430 
trace. 



IIS. 7694 



Wauke- 
sha. 



17.022 
12.368 
1.160 
0.042 
042 
0.741 
1.206 



32.603 



Sparta. 



0.4020 
4.0310 
0.1430 
2 2143 
14 3350 
0.2800 
0.2103 

21.6166 




Old D4ne County Court House. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS. 



MEDINA. 

BY FRANK L. MORRILL, Esq. 

The brief space allotted to us in this work will 
admit of but a meagre sketch of the general outlines 
of the township, together with a hasty review of some 
of the most important incidents which have trans- 
pired within its borders. At its close we shall en- 
deavor to take a glance at its present condition and 
prospects, and the inducements here offered by na- 
ture, as utilized and developed by enterprise. 

Location. — Medina is one of the eastern tier of 
towns in Dane county. It is designated by govern- 
ment survey as town eight (8), range twelve (12) east. 
It is bounded on the north by the town of York, on 
the east by the town of Waterloo, on the south by 
the town of Deerfield, and on the west by the town 
of Sun Prairie. The town is abundantly supplied 
with water, a small stream, the Indian name of which 
is " Maunesha/' now called Waterloo creek, passing 
entirely through it. It enters the township at the 



218 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 

northwest corner and runs nearly parallel with, and 
in no place more than two miles distant from the 
north boundary line. All of the opening lands were 
formerly covered with a moderate growth of the dif- 
ferent varieties of oak natural to this clime, inter- 
spersed with hickory, ash and bass wood. The general 
surface of the township is level. The western part 
contains about one thousand acres of handsome, roll- 
ing prairie, while near the center of the town, the 
site of the present thriving village of Marshall, there 
are about five hundred acres of beautiful u prairie 
openings." The remainder of the township consists 
of " burr oak openings," interspersed with some of 
the finest marsh lands in the state; a large portion of 
which, by means of draining and seeding, have been 
converted into highly valuable hay land. With the 
exception of a very small portion of poor marsh in 
the southern part, there is scarcely an acre of waste 
land in the town. 

The soil, with the exception of the prairie, is 
mostly a red clay loam, and equals any part of the 
state in the production of wheat and other cereals. 
It was here that the celebrated " Judkins wheat " 
was introduced into the county, by B. F. Judkins, 
the yield of which, during the last year (1876), ranged 
from twelve to twenty-six bushels per acre. Among 
other important products of the town, we might men- 
tion hops, tobacco and onions, which have all been 
successfully raised to considerable extent. The pres- 
ent population of the township numbers about fifteen 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 219 

hundred; the most populous township, with one ex- 
ception, in the county. The town was first settled, 
principally, by Americans from the states of New 
York, Vermont and Pennsylvania, together with 
quite a number of English families, who located in 
the southwestern part. In 1846, the Norwegians 
began to locate in the town, and at present there is a 
large settlement of them. Of those who came in 
that year, but two families now remain, those of Ole 
and Halver Aspinson. About 1864-65, the Germans 
also began to immigrate and settle in the eastern 
part of the town, and now constitute about one-fourth 
of the inhabitants of the entire township. Scattered 
throughout the town are a few Protestant Irish. 

The religious character of the town is one of its 
commending virtues. Nearly one-half of the whole 
population of the town are members of some reli- 
gious denomination. Among these are the Episcopal 
Methodists, who are a strong and prosperous body; 
the Close Communion Baptists, of whom there are a 
goodly number; a large number cf Free Methodists; 
a strong church of German Methodists; while the 
majority of the Norwegians are connected with the 
Lutheran Church. 

But while the morals of the people are thus care- 
fully guarded, the educational interests of the town 
have not been neglected. There is probably not a 
town in the state which can boast of better educa- 
tional advantages than Medina, with her far famed 
academy, her fine public school buildings, her efri- 



220 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 

cient corps of teachers, and the excellent attendance 
of her children at school. The town is divided into 
ten districts, two of them joint, in each of which 
there is a comfortable school house, amply supplied 
with all the modern appliances and conveniences. 

The town contains two villages ; Marshall, the oldest 
and principal one, which is beautifully situated near 
the center of the town, on a level plateau, on the 
south bank of Waterloo creek; it contains over three 
hundred inhabitants, and is compactly and neatly 
built, containing many tasty white brick residences, a 
fine academy building, three stories high, built of 
white Watertown brick; two churches, Methodist and 
Baptist; one of the largest town halls in the coun 
ty; an excellent school house, built of white brick; 
a large brick hotel; a first class flouring mill; two 
wagon and carriage shops; several stores; two harness 
shops; two boot and shoe shops; together with ware- 
houses and depot buildings, lumber yard, cheese fac- 
tory, livery stables, and the customary saloon accom- 
paniments. Deanville, situated one and a half miles 
west of Marshall, is a neat little prairie town of about 
one hundred inhabitants, and is an excellent grain mar- 
ket, being the center of a large and fertile wheat pro- 
ducing district. It contains some very tasty resi- 
dences, warehouses, lumber yards, one store, a black- 
smith shop, boot and shoe shop, etc. 

Early History. — The first land entered within the 
limits of what is now "Medina Township," was by 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MEDINA. 221 

A. A. Bird, Zeuas Bird, and a man by the name of 
Petrie, all of whom were from Little Falls, New York. 

These men entered into the following mutual con- 
tract: Zenas H. Bird, the younger brother, bought 
eighty acres of land, where the village of Marshall 
now stands, upon which he was to erect a " frame 
building " of suitable dimensions for a public house. 
In consideration of his erecting this house, A. A. 
Bird and Petrie were to improve the water power in 
the Maunesha creek, which flowed close by, and build 
thereon a saw mill, which they were to have com- 
pleted and running within one year. This was in 
June, 1S37. Zenas Bird went on and erected the 
public house according to contract. Meanwhile the 
other j)arties had got out the lumber for building 
the mill, and had drawn the most of it upon the 
ground where it was to be used. Zenas Bird and his 
" hands " went to the city of Madison for supplies, 
and while gone, the prairie caught fire and burned 
house, lumber and all. This occurred about the last of 
October, 1839. The frame of the house was not en- 
tirely consumed, but remained standing until 1845, 
when it fell to the ground, from which event the 
place derived the name of Bird's Ruins. 

The first permanent settlement in the town was in 
the month of June, 1839, on section seven. This was 
by Yolney Moore, Eleazer Moore and Henry S. Clark. 
They immediately began the erection of a dwelling 
house, and on the 3d of April, 1840, they moved their 
families from Milwaukee county to their new home. 



222 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MEDINA. 

Although so early in the season, Mr. Moore says the 
grass was then " knee high to a man." Here, in their 
rude dwelling, they lived for nearly two years before 
another family came into the town. Mrs. Moore has 
been heard to say, that " for one year and a half after 
coming here, I never saw the face of a white woman 
except my own daughter." The nearest house east 
was at Aztalan; the nearest one west was at Madison. 
It was here, in 1840, the first child was born in the 
town, William Moore, son of Voln'ey Moore and wife; 
and on the 28th day of December, 184:2, the first 
marriage was consummated in Medina, at the house of 
Yolney Moore, at which time he celebrated the wed- 
ding of both his daughters, the eldest to Mr. Charles 
Lawrence, of Token Creek, and Sarah, the youngest, 
to Mr. H. S. Clark. Some years later Mr. Moore 
moved to Baraboo, Sauk county, where he now re- 
sides. In 1845, H. S. Clark and wife were baptized, 
and united with the "Free Will Baptist Church," and 
in 1849 he went to California, but returned in 1852. 
His wife died in 1855, leaving four children. In 1857, 
he married a second time, to Miss Maria Lane. He 
died January 5, 1875, having always been a prominent 
man in the town, and having occupied many positions 
of trust and honor. Eleazer Moore started for Cali- 
fornia in 1852, but while crossing the plains, was ac- 
cidentally shot by a brother-in-law. In the years of 
1842-3, seven other families moved into the town, 
three of them settling in the eastern and four in the 
western partf in the vicinity of Yolney Moore's resi- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 223 

clence, one of which was Charles "Wakeman. Thus, 
in the spring of 1844, the town contained but eight 
families — three in the east and five in the west part. 
There was but one road established, known as the Sun 
Prairie and Lake Mills road. Among: the more 
prominent ones who moved to Medina this year were 
Moses Page, Martin Bostwick, Daniel S. Cross, Judge 
Reuben Smith, Sardine Muzzy, Willard Cole, Peter 
Sifort and Asa Cross. The first attempt at political . 
organization occurred during this year. It consisted 
of the uniting of three towns in what was called the 
"Waterloo Precinct, and on the 22d of September, 
1844, the people held a town meeting at the house of 
Reuben Smith, at which election forty-one votes were 
cast, George B. Smith, of Madison, acting as one of 
the clerks. The second election was by four towns, 
under the name of Sun Prairie Precinct. This was 
held in the western part of Medina, at the house of 
Mr. Peckham, and a third meeting (special) called at 
Moore's school house, on section ei^ht, a loo- building 
which had been erected in 1844, and at which place 
the precinct elections were held for a number of years. 
The first religious society of Medina was organ- 
ized by Elder Moffat, of the Free Will Baptists, in the 
log school-house, on section eight, in 1845. The pro- 
perty of Mr. Zenas Bird, consisting of six eighties of 
land, passed into the hands of John Douglas, who 
began what is now the flourishing village of Marshall, 
by setting up the old tumbled-down frame, and con- 
structing a dwelling house containing two rooms. 



22-t DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MEDINA. 

During this year lie also commenced building a saw 
mill, which was not completed, however, until 1847, 
when it Was finished by a Mr. Seely, the first phy- 
sician who settled in Medina. The town settled up 
rapidly during 1845. Among others who came during 
this year were, Louis Stone, John T. White, from 
London, England, and Charles Lum; A. J. Allen, 
John Tracy, M. D. Currier, Thomas Hart, Jr., and 
others from Medina, Ohio. 

The first religious meeting held at Bird's Ruins, 
was in 1845, at the house of John Douglas. The ser- 
mon (one of Whitfield's) was read by George B. 
Smith, now of Madison, from a book loaned by Thos. 
Hart. In the spring of 1845, G. W. Day established 
a store in one room of John Douglas' house, and 
brought the first barrel 'of whisky into the town, and 
it is reported that as he drew one gallon of whisky 
from the faucet, the stock was replenished by turning 
in a gallon of water at the bung; and the result was, 
that when cold weather came, the contents of the 
barrel froze up solid, and whisky drinking was sus- 
pended during the winter. Judge Reuben Smith, an 
active temperance worker, taking advantage of this 
circumstance, organized a Washingtonian Society; 
but when the barrel thawed out in the spring, many 
of the members violated their pledge, and the lodge 
soon went down. 

The first school at Bird's Ruins was taught during 
the summer by Susan Tracy, in Judge Smith's house. 
Some time in the spring, Martin Mead buried his 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 225 

wife, the first death which occurred in the township 
in 1846. Among other incidents of note, during this 
year, we might mention the construction of the first 
mill dam. The first church organization in the village 

CD ™ 

was established under the auspices of the Close Com- 
munion Baptists. During the winter of 1846 and 
1847, they held their first protracted meeting, con- 
ducted by Elder Green, at the house of William Par- 
sons, in Bird's Ruins. A large revival followed, and 
the excitement being so great, they baptized at mid- 
night by moonlight. Immediately following this, the 
Methodists organized, and held a protracted meeting 
at the house of Judge Smith, at that time occupied by 
a Mr. Shepherd. Their efforts, however, met with 
poor success. 

The first wedding in the village occurred in Januarv 

CD CD *s 

of 1847: Mr. Dorman Mead to Mrs. Catharine Doug- 
las; and both are still living in Jefferson county, about 
eight miles from where they were married, a hale and 
genial old couple, loved and respected by all who 
know them. 

Among others who settled in Medina, in the year 
of 1846, were, Louis Morrill, Jesse M. Smith, Silas 
Mory, Thomas Hart, Sen., Joseph Hart, C. T. Weeks, 
George Lewellen, and others. Among those who came 
in 1847 were W. E. Persons, A. M. Hanchett, and 
Urbane Parsons. Mr. Hanchett purchased the pro- 
perty of John Douglas, and established a store at 
Bird's Iiuins. Up to this time, the nearest accessible 

postoffice was at Lake Mills, about ten miles distant, 
15 



226 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MEDINA. 

from which place the mail was occasionally carried by 
passing teams, but usually on foot, by Mr. Urbane 
Parsons, this being the swiftest mode of conveyance, 
as the only teams possessed by the settlers were oxen. 
Being thus brought to realize the necessities of the 
times, Mr. Parsons personally circulated a petition, 
which eventually resulted in the establishment of a 
post office at Bird's Ruins, and A. M. Ilanchett 
was made the first postmaster. 

Early in the year of 1S48, the legislature of the 
state of Wisconsin passed a resolution, that the town- 
ship be organized into a separate town, by the name 
of "Medina;" the first town meeting to be held at 
Bird's Ruins. The first meeting was accordingly 
held on the 4th day of April, of the same year, in the 
house of Louis Morrill, at which time, the following 
officers were elected (Louis Stone, William II. Mun- 
ger, and Gideon Ormsby, acting as judges): Charles 
Lum, William C. Rood, and II. S. Clark, supervisors 
of the town; Urbane Parsons, town clerk; Aaron H. 
Pinney, treasurer; Martin King, W. E. Persons, and 
D. K. Hunger, commissioners of highways; S. Y. R. 
Shepherd, tax collector; O. W. Thornton, M. D. Cur- 
rier, Charles Rickerson, school commissioners; O. W. 
Thornton, W. E. Persons, and D. S. Cross, justices of 
the peace; S. Y. R. Shepherd, and Nathaniel Lar- 
rabee, constables; Sardine Muzzy, Yolney Moore, 
Aaron Pinney, assessors; Jacob Miller, Moses Page, 
W. II. Hunger, fence viewers; A. M. Ilanchett, 
Nathan Brown, C. T. Weeks, John Luke, and David 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 227 

Ormsby, overseers of roads in their respective dis- 
tricts. At said meeting, the pay of town officers was 
fixed at one dollar per day, for actual service rendered. 
There is no record of the number of votes cast at this 
election; but at the next one, there were eighty-three. 

In 1849, there was a good, substantial school house 
erected at Bird's Ruins. It was built of red brick, 
and comfortably seated for the accommodation of 
about seventy scholars, and paid for by a tax on the 
district, which at that time comprised about one-half 
of the township. About this time the village received 
the name of Hanchettville. 

In 1847, a lodge of Sons of Temperance was organ- 
ized by Geo. B. Smith and Judge Knapp, from Mad- 
ison. It remained in existence for about one-and-a- 
half years, with variable success, and then passed 
away. In 1849, an Odd Fellows' lodge was organized 
in the brick school house at Hanchettville, but for 
some reason was sustained but a short time. It 
might, perhaps, be interesting to the reader to men- 
tion some of the inconveniences which were experi- 
enced by the early settlers in this locality. There 
were no roads in the town, with the exception of a 
wagon track cleared through the timber. And when 
we say " cleared," we do not use the term with its 
modern significance, for the road still bristled with 
stumps, and the wagons, as they rolled slowly along, 
tumbled over huge rocks, which had never been 
moved from their resting places. There were no 
bridges over the streams, and the routes were often 



228 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 

lengthened in reaching a practicable fording place, 
while over some of the low and otherwise impassible 
places, they had constructed the time honored " cor- 
duroy," so well known and much used in all new 
timber districts. Over such roads, by means of ox 
teams, the settlers were obliged to draw their pro- 
ducts to Milwaukee to market, some seventy miles 
distant, while their groceries and other necessary arti- 
cles of merchandise had to be transported back by the 
same tedious method. For many years there was no 
blacksmith shop nearer than Lake Mills, ten miles 
east of Bird's Ruins, and the settlers used to put their 
log chains into a bag, and slinging it upon their back, 
carry them over the rough and muddy roads to that 
place to get them mended. H. S. Clark has been 
known to take the " shear " of his breaking plow 
upon his shoulders (and none but those who have seen 
one of the primitive breaking plows used in those 
times can appreciate this feat), and carry it to Madi- 
son, nearly twenty miles distant, get it sharpened, 
and return with it the same day. The first anvil and 
pair of bellows were brought into the town by Louis 
Stone, and the first blacksmith shop was opened by 
his nephew, Jesse Stone and J. Thompson, under a 
large burr oak in Bird's Ruins, where they held forth 
for some time in the open air. 

The nearest grist mill was at Lake Mills, and in the 
muddy season, when the road was impassible for 
teams, the settlers, in cases of necessity, would take 
some corn in a bag, carry it on foot to the mill, get 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 229 

it ground, and bring back the meal. There are per- 
sons still living in the village of Marshall, who can 
well remember when the unvarying bill of fare was 
Johnny cake for breakfast, Johnny cake for dinner, 
and Johnny cake for supper, with its usual concomi- 
tant, " Wisconsin gravy." This was manufactured 
by taking a little flour or meal and stirring it in 
water, making a thin paste, which they spread on the 
corn bread. As civilization advanced, however, and 
times became more prosperous, some enterprising 
Yankee introduced sweetening into the locality in the 
form of cheap molasses, and then the better classes in- 
dulged in sweet corn bread once a week (Sundays). 
This was considered a luxury indeed, and was eaten 
with great relish, without sauce or gravy, butter being 
a "minus quantity" in those days. 

As soon as the settlers could get a piece of land 
broken up, and procure seed with which to sow it, 
they raised excellent crops of winter wheat, rang- 
ing from thirty-five to forty bushels per acre; but 
on account of- their restricted market advantages for 
a great many years, they realized only an insignifi- 
cant price for their produce, barely sufficient to pay 
their taxes and purchase a few necessary articles of 
wearing apparel, together with their indispensable 
farming implements. 

In 1852, Charles Wakeman purchased a wagon for 
$90, and sold No. 1 winter wheat at thirty cents per 
bushel to pay for it. In 1852, A. M. Hanchett 
erected the first grist mill at Bird's Ruins. He also 



230 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MEDINA. 

built a new mill dam, about twenty rods below the 
old one, and moved the saw mill down along side of 
the grist mill. The saw mill, after having accom- 
plished its mission of converting thousands of feet of 
the primitive oaks into lumber, to the incalculable 
benefit of the early settlers, at last rotted and fell to 
the ground, the necessity for its labors being super- 
seded by the increasing facilities of transportation, 
which enabled the people to procure pine lumber 
from the northern part of the state. The grist 
mill still stands upon its original site, and having 
been repeatedly remodeled and improved, is now 
known as the far famed flouring mill of Porter & 
Marshall. 

In 1852 and '53, a plankroad was projected and 
built from Watertown to Hanchettville. The opening 
up of this great thoroughfare, connecting, as it were, 
this seemingly isolated district with the great busi- 
ness world, resulted in untold benefit and advantage 
to the settlers; and for many years the little villages 
which sprung up, as if by magic, along its line, were 
the scenes of bustling activity and lively enterprise. 
In 1853, the typhoid fever raged with great fatality 
throughout the town. Dr. H. H. Beebe, who had 
previously resided at Peckham's Corners, moved into 
Hanchettville, and although a young man, distin- 
guished himself in treating this class of diseases, and 
gaining a reputation which time has fully sustained. 
He still continues to practice in the place, having by 
years of assiduous toil won the confidence and esteem 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — 'MEDINA. 231 

of the entire people, and an enviable reputation as a 
physician. 

In 1856, the proposition of building a railroad from 
"Watertown to Madison was agitated; about one-half 
of the inhabitants were in favor of saddling the town 
with a debt of $25,000 for the purpose of assisting 
the project, while the remainder were opposed. A 
special town meeting was called, and the railroad ad- 
vocates were defeated by two votes. In 1859, how- 
ever, the Madison, Watertown and St. Paul Company 
succeeded in acquiring the requisite amount of 
"Pledges," and constructed what is known as the 
" Madison Branch Boad," locating a depot at Han- 
chettville and another at Deanville. Property holders 
anticipated great results from the effect of this road, 
in enhancing the value of property and building up 
the village of Hanchettville, and the unpretending 
name of Hanchettville gave way to the name of 
Howard City, in honor of one of the railroad con- 
tractors. But these anticipations were not realized, 
but on the contrary, actual adversity superseded the 
expected prosperity, and Mr. Hanchett was obliged 
to dispose of his vast property to Messrs. Porter and 
Marshall, who again changed the name of the village, 
this time christening it " Marshall," which title it 
retains at the present day. 

While passing along down through the course of 
years, we would not forget to mention some of those 
who immortalized their names in the great war of the 
rebellion. Of the seventy or eighty from Medina 



232 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 

who responded to our country's call for volunteers, 
at least twenty-one never returned. The first com- 
pany organized in the town was by Capt. Brad- 
ford Hancock. Among the killed from the town we 
mention: Aaron Twining, Silas Hatfield, Peter Lusk, 
Daniel Norton, Edwin Hancock, Hiram Miller, Wil- 
liam Berge, A. Wilsey, Carl Kappin, Charles Mat- 
thews, Isaac Warren, John Cruger, Charles Wendt, 
Hiram Smith, Lucius Gregg, DelbertLee, Wm. King, 
Charles Lintner, John Agnew, Charles Calkins, But- 
ler, Merrey, Kinney and Hays. The town also sus- 
tained one draft, by which fourteen were impressed. 
Among the early pioneers of Medina, whose lives are 
intimately connected with the history of the town, 
but few now remain. A few have moved away, seek- 
ing to better their temporal condition by a change of 
locality; some of whom are lost to the knowledge, 
but not to the remembrance, of those who remain; 
others we have succeeded in tracing to their present 
places of abode, in different parts of our own and 
other states. But the marble monuments in the 
beautiful little cemetery just outside the village of 
Marshall marks the resting place of the larger portion 
of them. There are but two of the old settlers left in 
Marshall — Urbane Parsons, aged 76, and his wife, 
aged 82. Among those who still reside in the town 
are, wife of Asa Cross, aged 90; Charles Wakeman, 
75; Stephen Mory, 82 ; Mrs. Agnew, 83; Mrs. Knap- 
ton, 76; Charles Lum, 70; Dean Chase, 80; Anson 
Warner, 75; Geo. Bashford, 84, and his wife, 75. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 238 

Among those whose ages are unknown to the writer 
are, Sardine Muzzy, Geo. Lewellen, Willard Oole, C. 
T. Weeks, Joseph Wilt, Willard Weeks, Asa Dewey, 

D. S. Cross, O. W. Thornton, Joseph Hart, Andrew 
Betts, Stephen Jones, Thos. Hart, H. H. Beebe, Silas 
Morey, Jacob Miller, Jesse Smith, W. K. Parsons, T. 
B. Wakeman, James Wakeman, Wm. Knapton, W. 

E. Persons, Thomas Fallows, and Ole and Halver 
Osbbrnson. Of those who are dead, we would men- 
tion, Moses Page, aged 87; Asa Cross, 90; Samuel 
Smith, 84; Keuben Smith, 80; Louis Morrill, 73. 

Coming down to the present time, we would call 
attention to those, to whose enterprise and zeal the 
village of Marshall is indebted for its present pros- 
perous condition. Among the live men of the place 
we must mention William H. Porter, the proprietor 
of the flouring mill, which he is having repaired and 
remodeled at an expense of from five to six thousand 
dollars; he is resolved to make it one of the first 
mills in the country. To this end he is furnishing it 
with steam power, in addition to the excellent natural 
water power upon which he has hitherto depended, 
and is now prepared to do all kinds of custom work 
and manufacture all the modern brands of flour. 
Samuel Blascoer, an old and respected merchant, sup- 
plies the surrounding community with goods, from 
the largest and best assorted stock of merchandise to 
be found between Watertown and Madison ; his an- 
nual sales amounting- to from thirty to forty thousand 



284 DANE COUNTS TOWNS MEDINA. 

dollars. K. W. Jargo, druggist, keeps constantly on 
hand a large assortment of drugs and medicines, toi- 
let and fancy articles, glass, paints, oils, and a general 
stock of groceries. John Lindsay, dealer in boots, 
shoes and harness, a large portion of which are home 
manufactures. Herman Glagow, dealer in heavy and 
shelf hardware and stoves, and manufacturer of all 
kinds of tinware. Cramer & Co., dry goods and 
groceries; location near the depot. Peter Yan Loan, 
wagon and carriage shop. J. O. Nordell, harness 
shop. John Sanders, boots and shoes. William 
Pickard, grain buyer. C. E. Bell, furniture and re- 
pair shop. E. J. McPherson, blacksmith shop. Geo. 
E. Allen, livery stable. Mr. Allen is also one of the 
best veterinary surgeons in the state, and has a large 
barn arranged into an infirmary, where he is prepared 
to treat the worst of cases. 

As before mentioned, Marshall contains one of the 
finest academies in the state. It was erected in 1866, 
at a cost of $14,000. It was built by a joint stock 
company, but the credit of the successful and speedy 
consummation of the project is due, in a great meas- 
ure, to the enterprise and energy of E. B. Bigelow. 
The Methodist church erected in 1869, at a cost of 
three thousand dollars, is a fine wooden building, and 
was dedicated in February, 1869, by Rev. Samuel Fal- 
lows. The Baptist church, a fine brick edifice, was 
built the same year, and was dedicated February 17, 
1869, by Rev. O. G. Hoge; its cost being a trifle over 
three thousand dollars. We would not forget the 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MEDINA. 285 

German Methodist church, about one and a half miles 
south of Marshall, a neat little building, erected in 
1S76, at a cost of fifteen hundred dollars. 

Marshall Academy was opened January 7, 1867, 
with J. J. Mclntire, principal, and Mary A. Cuckoo, 
preceptress, under the supervision of the following 
board of directors: Joseph Hart, president; W. 11. 
Porter, treasurer; E. B. Bigelow, secretary; Louis 
Morrill, Samuel Blascoer, Thomas Hart, Torga Ole- 
son, Jacob Miller and Samuel Fields. In 1869, the 
building was purchased by the Augustine Synod of 
Lutherans, and formally dedicated to their use in No- 
vember of the same year, with J. J. Anderson as 
principal of the Academic department, and Prof. 
Weinass, of the Theological Seminary. It is now 
under the supervision of Prof. Henry Dorman, with 
F. W. Huntington, Teacher of Languages. 

The town is now entirely out of debt, and prosper- 
ing under the management of the following officers: 

Board of Supervisors — William II. Porter, Chair- 
man, P. W. Agnew and E. Zimbrich. Town Clerk — 
Henry Dorman. Treasurer — David Hames. As- 
sessor — I. C. Knapton. 

William H. Porter, Postmaster, has had the man- 
agement of the office for many years. George H. 
Norton, resident attorney-at-law. H. H. Beebe, prac- 
ticing physician. 



236 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BLUE MOUNDS. 



BLUE MOUNDS. 

BY JOHN C. WARD AND IRA ISHAM. 

The town of Blue Mounds is situated in the south- 
western part of Dane county; is bounded on the 
north by Vermont, east by Springdale, south by 
Perry, and west by Ridgeway, in Iowa connty. Two- 
thirds of the town is rolling prairie, and the balance 
good timber, with now and then a fine grove on the 
prairie. The soil is rich, a good farming country, 
and well watered. 

This town was settled first by Ebenezer Brigham 
in 1826, on section 6. In 1828 he struck what has 
since been called the Brigham lead, on section 7, and 
hundreds of thousands of pounds of lead ore have been 
taken out of it. There are a great many other dig- 
gings in the town, but this one is the largest; and 
though some of them are worked until this day, the 
last mentioned has yielded about 10,000 tons. 

A fort was erected here in 1832, on section 7, called 
the Blue Mounds fort, for the protection of the min- 
ers and inhabitants of the surrounding country. In 
1831 or 1832, Mr. Brigham had occasion to send two 
men to his residence on section 6, to repair some 
fences, when a number of Indians, who lay in ambush, 
rose up and fired on them, killing one and then captur- 
ing both of their horses; the other man made his 



"DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 237 

escape to the fort, about a mile distant. It was also 
about this time that Lieut. Force and Capt. 
Green of the fort (the latter 's family residing in the 
fort), rode out about two miles in a northeast direc- 
tion on to the Madison and Mineral Point road, 
on section 9, and were attacked by Indians that 
lay in ambush among some hazel brush. Firing 
on them, they killed Lieutenant Force dead and 
wounded Captain Green in the arm, breaking it; 
he undertook to make his escape to the fort on 
horseback, but the Indians being also mounted, and 
being in large numbers, succeeded in surrounding 
him in a grove on section 16, where they killed and 
scalped him. Their bodies lay on the ground for 
about three days, until Gen. Dodge, from Dodgeville, 
came out with the rangers or volunteers and buried 
them just where they were killed. Their remains 
were afterwards taken up and buried near the fort. 

Nothing of importance occurred from this time till 
1844 to 1845. The permanent settlers of the town 
in the spring of 1845 were, Ebenezer Brigham, 
Jeremiah Lycan, Edward Dale, Ira Isham, William 
Kowe, and John Rowe. In 1846, two or three Nor- 
wegian families settled in the town, and quite a 
number of Americans. John Rider and a number 
of others came in 1847 and 1848. The first town 
meeting was held at the house of Ira Isham, and the 
following officers elected : Stipervisors — Ebenezer 
Brigham, chairman; Thomas Heaney and Thomas 
Steele; Clerk — A. S. Needham; Assessor — John 



238 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BLUE MOUNDS. 

Sample; Treasurer — Edward Dale; Collector — Jere- 
miah Lycan; School Commissioners — Granville I. 
Neale, Win. Howe, David Smith, Ebenezer Brigham, 
Edward Dale and Thomas Steele. 

Game, such as deer, wolves, bears, prairie chickens, 
partridges, quails, etc., were abundant in those days. 
In the spring of the year it was nothing uncommon to 
see from twenty to thirty deer in a drove, and thou- 
sands of prairie chickens, partridges and quails, could 
be shot quite easy from a wagon. The wolves were 
also plenty, but very shy, seldom ever seen in the 
day time, and did not attempt to attack any human 
beings. 

Three-fourths of the population at the present 
time are Norwegians, who are an industrious people 
and good citizens; the others are Germans, Irish, 
English and Americans. From 1845 till the railroad 
passed through Madison going west, there was a daily 
mail through here, and sometimes as many as four extra 
stages, all four-horse. There was a post office in this 
town as early as 1828, called the Blue Mounds post 
office. There is no East Blue Mounds post office, as 
sometimes by mistake it is called. There is a West 
Blue Mounds in Iowa county, and a post office in this 
town called Mount Horeb, making two post offices. 
"We have four whole, and two joint school districts, 
and also good school houses. The first school district 
number one was established in 1816, on section 10, 
on the Madison and Mineral Point road. There are 
four churches, one Method' st Episcopal, one Ger- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 239 

man Methodist, one Norwegian Lutheran, and one 
German Lutheran; they are all well attended. "We 
have no saloons in the town, and never granted 
licenses but once or twice, and then the whole time 
the saloon was kept was about three years. 

At Blue Mounds F. Brackenwagon is postmoster, 
and keeps a store with a general stock of merchan- 
dise suitable for a country trade. At Mount Horeb 
O. C. Nubson is also engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness and keeps a suitable stock of goods. F. J. Field 
and Samuel Thompson are the blacksmiths; Paul 
A. Sletto, shoemaker; Andrew E. Thompson, capen- 
ter; while Dr. P. A. Flaten is the physician, with a 
good practice. 

[The following communication, sent us at our spe- 
cial request by J. R. Brigham, of Milwaukee, nephew 
of the patriarch pioneer, Ebenezer Brigham, will be 
read by our readers with unusual interest. We re- 
gret the brevity of it, but nevertheless feel deeply 
obligated to him for his hasty sketch of the times 
and events that surrounded historic " Smoky Mts.," 
and a just pride in reflecting that the history of Dane 
county's first pioneer belongs to the whole State, 
and every stone placed in the structure is tending to 
the repleteness of the whole fabric] 

Blue Mounds was created a political town by an act passed at the 
last session of the territorial legislature, approved March 11, 1848, 
the same year that Wisconsin became a state. The act provides 
that " so much of range six as is embraced in towns six and seven, 
in Dane county, is organized in a separate town, by the name of 
Blue Mounds, and the first town meeting shall be held at the house 
of Ira Isham." Mr. Isham, who is still living on his fine farm hi 



240 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BLUE MOUNDS. 

the same town, a hale and hearty fanner, lived at that time in 
what was then and still is known as the "Brigham Place," where 
he kept puhlic house for the accommodation of travelers, who at 
that day were numerous. In earlier times, and before the day of 
railroads in Wisconsin, the Blue Mounds road was one of the chief 
thoroughfares of the territory. The natural dividing ridge, which 
extends from near Madison almost due west to the Mississippi river, 
and separates the waters running northerly to the Wisconsin from 
those running in the opposite direction, finding their way to the 
Mississippi south of the Wisconsin boundary, passed close by the 
house. Along the natural grade of this dividing ridge was estab- 
lished the military road from Fort Winnebago (now Portage) to 
Fort Crawford (now Prairie du Chien). This was probably the first 
wagon road maintained within the limits of Wisconsin At the 
date of the organization of the town, it was the stage route from 
Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river. The four-horse coaches of 
the United States mail, with nine passengers inside and more on 
top, passed each way daily. The old stage coach, now almost for- 
gotten, was then in its glory. The driver's box was a throne, and 
the stage driver was a monarch. Among the best known of the 
good drivers of that day was Andrew Bishop, "The Elder," as he 
was respectfully termed by his brethren of the four-in-hand. Since 
that time, Mr. Bishop has acceptably filled the important offices of 
sheriff of Dane county and chief of police of the city of Madison, 
which last position he holds at the present time; but he can scarcely 
be a more important character, or better or more widely known in 
either of his later offices than he was in the days when he lustily 
wound the sounding horn along the echoing sides of the Blue 
Mounds, and, with a cheery flourish of his long silver-mounted 
whip, brought his load of nappy passengers up to the door of the 
house for dinner. There were no second-class seats in the coach of 
those days, but it was a coveted privilege, and memorable to him 
who secured it, to ride on the box with " The Elder." 

The date of the political organization of the town is by no means 
the beginning of the history of Blue Mounds. As long ago as when 
the school maps designated all the country west of Lake Michigan 
as Northwest Territory, a point about midway between the Missis- 
sippi and the lake, was marked " Smoky Mts." North of this the 
Ouisconsin river (as the spelling was) was indicated, and nothing else 
of all that makes our present state had name or place. The two 
peaks so marked Smoky Mts, since called the Blue Mounds, are 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 241 

conspicuous features in the landscape of western Wisconsin. Rising 
abruptly from the long rolling prairie' at their foot to the height of 
1,100 feet above the level of the river, they are distinctly visible 
more than fifty miles away, and seen from a distance, across the 
prairie on a summer day, the names Smoky and Blue Mounds 
well characterize their appearance. 

The settlement, which has always borne the name of Blue Mounds, 
is worthy of special mention hi a history of Dane county, because 
it was, by several years, the earliest settlement in the county, being 
among the earliest hi Wisconsin. 

Its first settler was Ebenezer Brigham, who established himself 
there in the year 1828, having come up from near the mouth of the 
Missouri river, first to what is now Galena, and from thence to the 
Blue Mounds, hi search of Mineral lands, that is, lands containing 
lead ore. The discovery of lead in the upper Mississippi, in the re^ 
gion of which Galena is .now the heart, created an excitement 
among the settlers of the Mississippi valley, farther down, and pro- 
duced a rush for the new mining district quite parallel to the Cali- 
fornia excitement of 1849. The last was more widely spread, but 
in intensity and wild excitement among those whom it reached, in 
those days before railroads and telegraphs, the lead fever in 1827 
and 1828 was equal to the gold fever twenty-one years later. Both 
brought sudden riches to a few, and untold hardships and misery to 
the most. 

Mr. Brigham was successful hi making discovery of a valuable 
body of mineral (as the lead ore was and still is called by the mi- 
ners) in some diggings on section seven, in the present town of 
Blue Mounds, which had been, before, somewhat worked by Indi- 
ans and, perhaps, by wandering white men, but had been aban- 
doned before Mr. Brigham's discovery of the lode wliich still bears 
his name. He built his cabin near a fine spring of cold clear water, 
on the side of the. Mound, overlooking the prairie for many miles. 
The spring still flows, but the original cabins, hi which he and Ins 
companions lived for several years, long since disappeared, and the 
larger and more comfortable farm house afterward built, which old 
settlers will remember pleasantly, as a welcome stopping place of the 
olden time, and which had been maintained in its original form, until 
it had become an interestiug antiquity hi our new state, having en- 
dured more than forty years, was burned to the ground in January, 
1877. 

As Mr. Brigham was not only the first settler of the town, but 
16 



212 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BJ.UE MOUNDS. 

was also a man well known in the early history of the territory and 
state, it is proper to make a brief record of his public service. On 
the organization of Wisconsin Territory, in 1886, which then in- 
cluded what is now in Iowa and Minnesota, as well as the present state 
of Wisconsin, Mr. Brigham was elected a member of the Territorial 
council, from the county of Iowa, which then embraced all south of 
the Wisconsin river and west of the Four Lakes. The council con- 
sisted of thirteen members, of whom seven were from districts with- 
in the present limits of Wisconsin, and six were from west of the 
Mississippi. Mr. Brigham attended the first session of the Legisla- 
ture, held at Belmont in 1886, and the two sessions held at Burling- 
ton in 1837 and 1838. After the division of the territory by the line 
of the Mississippi river, he was elected a member of the council for 
the district composed of the counties of Dane, Dodge, Green and 
Jefferson, and was present at the sessions of 1838, 1839, 1839-40, 
1840-1, and 1841-2, which were held at Madison. 

During tins period, the question of continuing the seat of gov- 
ernment at Madison was frequently up and hotly contested. 
During one session, the members of the council were so nearly 
equally divided that the absence of one member, voting for Madi- 
son, would have deen fatal. Mr. Brigham was, naturally, a cham- 
pion of Madison. He was the only member of the council who had 
ever seen the spot, when the act of 1836 was passed, locating the 
seat of government at a point ' ' between the Third and Fourth 
Lakes," at the section corners where the capitol now stands. He 
was also one of the three members of the assembly from Dane 
county at the first session of the state legislature in 1848. He died 
in 1862, and his remains He buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery of 
Madison. 

During the Black Hawk war, in 1832, Blue Mounds was the site 
of one of the neighborhood forts, for the protection of settlers 
against the Indians. It was called the Mound Fort, and was the 
home of about twenty-five people, including women and children, 
untd the war closed. The fort was situated on the high prairie, 
somewhat more than a mile from the foot of the mound, and com- 
manded a view wholly unobstructed, in every other direction, for 
many miles. The fort was sometimes threatened, to the serious 
alarm of the inmates, but was never actually attacked by the In- 
dians, who were frequently seen in the near neighborhood, so that 
it was never safe to be far outside the stockade. At different times, 
thev succeeded in killing three men of the little garrison, outside ol 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 243 

the protection of the fort. Two of them were butchered, in plain 
sight of the inmates of the fort, but too far away to be rescued. 
The two Misses Hall, who had been taken captive, were brought in 
to the Mound Fort by Winnebagoes and surrendered, on the pay- 
ment of ransom . and the young women were returned to civilized 
life. Then- story attracted a good deal of attention and interest 
throughout the country, and the Blue Mounds Were brought into con- 
siderable notoriety, by the fact that the surrender was made there. 

Blue Mounds was the point where Gen. Henry, with his command, 
effected a junction with Gen. Atkinson and his forces, two days after 
the battle of the Wisconsin Heights, where the Indians, under Black 
Hawk, suffered terrible defeat. At the Mounds, fresh supplies of 
amunition and provisions were procured, and the troops moved on 
at once. Crossing the Wisconsin at Helena, they continued the 
pursuit of the flying savages to the Mississippi, where the Indian 
forces were completely destroyed, in what is known as the battle of 
Bad Axe. Black Hawk escaped alive, but soon after surrendered 
himself a prisoner, and the war was ended. The importance of Blue 
Mounds as a point in these movements, lay in the fact that it afford- 
ed the shortest and almost the only feasible route to the Wisconsin 
river, by way of a remarkable ridge, sometimes called the "Hog's 
Back," just wide enough for a wagon, leading from the back of the 
mound nearly to the river, crossing the deep ravines and avoiding 
the marshes, and affording a natural and practicable road across a 
country otherwise almost impassable. By taking this route, guided 
by one well acquainted with the country, the army was enabled to 
overtake the Indians in their retreat, and to put an end to the war 
at a blow. 

The records of the town show that the following were important 
citizens in 1848, at the organization of the town government, viz. : 
Thomas Haney, Thomas Steele, A. S. Needham, John Sample, Ed- 
ward Dale, Jeremiah Lycan, Granville Neal, William Rowe, David 
Smith, William Skinner, N. Dryden and James Tennison, of whom 
very few still survive. 

At the present time the town is off the usual routes of travel, and 
but little known by the public. Its natural features remain, and 
few, if any, more charming prospects are afforded any where, than 
that gained from the summit of the high mound in a clear day. 



244 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 



WEST BLUE MOUNDS DE. E. W. JONES. 

The village of West Blue Mounds is situated at the 
base of the " "West Blue Mound," the highest and 
most noted of all the Blue Mounds. On the east, south 
and west, we find rich, beautiful prairies — not an un- 
broken and level plain, but undulating, and in some 
places quite broken. The West Blue Mound is 1,187 
feet above Lake Michigan, and 490 feet above the vil- 
lage. We are told by reliable parties and good au- 
thority that this mound is the highest point of land 
in this or neighboring states. From the summit of 
the mound one can see the capital city with the naked 
eye, and with a good glass, farms and buildings can 
be studied in every particular a distance of more than 
forty miles. Here we find a signal station and an 
observatory, constructed, we believe, by Profs. Davies 
and Irving, and a corps from the State University, while 
studying the topography of the country. Near the 
summit we find several fine sulphur springs, pouring 
forth large streams of their peculiar mineral water. 
This mountain is the property of Mr. C. B. Arnold. 
Persons desiring absolute quiet, pure air and water, 
cannot find a more suitable spot wherein to pitch their 
tent. As a resort for fatigued brain-workers, this 
point is especially adapted. No one breathes this 
pure air without feeling a sense of exhilaration that 
is really astonishing. 

About a mile southeast of the village is the site of 
the old Blue Mound fort where the early settlers had 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 245 

prepared a place of safety for their families in case of 
trouble with the Indians. The stockade is gone, and 
only the walls of earth remain to mark the spot where 
the brave and hardy pioneers in years gone by were 
wont to assemble for mutual assistance and protection. 
In the immediate vicinity of the village are some of 
the most noted lead mines in the state, such as " the 
Brag Holler," Brigham, and old Dudley diggings. 
The ore from these mines, I believe, is the richest in 
the world, being more than 90 per cent, pure lead. 

The business interests of the place have never 
flagged. The Hon. John Adams, of Black Earth, was 
the first business man of note in the village, and he 
has done more than any other, perhaps, to establish 
the commercial interests of the place. The magnet 
(railroad iron) took him from this point many years 
ago, and he is so enamored of the steam whistle, that 
it is only once in a great while that his genial face is 
seen among his old friends and associates. Mr. Adams 
has an enviable reputation among the farmers of this 
section for honesty and fair dealing; in fact, is known 
as the farmer's friend. 

Next among the men who helped greatly toward 
building up the place, we note Mr. Richard "Wade, 
now of Adamsville. Mr. "Wade was proprietor and 
landlord of the then " Wade House." He also car- 
ried a large stock of goods, and made quite a fortune 
by his strict business manners and hard work. An- 
other thing Mr. Wade did was to rechristen the 
village. From a weakness the miners had for the 



246 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BLUE MOUNDS. 

game of "■poker," he named the place " Pokerville," 
and by that name the village is best known hereabouts. 
Mr. Ira Isham is said to be the originator of the name. 

H. Isaacson, Esq., now of Black Earth, was for- 
merly of this burg, and "Ike " has handled many a 
crisp bill and bright gold piece while a merchant of 
this town. 

At present the business interests of the place are in 
a very flourishing condition. Mr. William H. Jones, 
the leading merchant, is a strict and judicious business 
man. He is doing a very large business, selling any- 
thing a man wants, from a cambric needle to a prai- 
rie farm. Mr. Jones' business amounts to upwards 
of twenty-five thousand dollars a year, and by his 
square dealing, genial manners, and an eye to trade, 
it is constantly on the increase. Certainly no man 
has the confidence of his customers more implicitly 
than Mr. Jones, and from an intimate acquaintance 
with his private life as well as his business principles, 
no man is more deserving of such a trust. Aside 
from his large store, Mr. Jones is proprietor of 
the up-town hotel. The house has a reputation 
among traveling men that speaks more forcibly than 
any pen picture can advertise it. Let the readers of 
your book stop once at this house, and they will be 
satisfied that this is one of the best country hotels on 
the continent. 

Next we meet our old friend C. B. Arnold, who has 
been here a quarter of a century. Mr. Arnold is a 
strict business man, and owns many hundreds acres of 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 247 

land, including the famed West Blue Mound. Aside 
from this fine property, lie is conducting a large and 
excellent hotel, also a well ordered store. Mr. A. 
has kept a hotel here for more than twenty years, 
and certainly understands his business. Through all 
this period the traveling public have eaten the good 
things from his table, and all agree that the house is 
hard to beat. I understand the firm name is soon to 
be changed to C. B. Arnold & Son, Mr. A. taking his 
son Ralph into full partnership. 

Messrs. Smith & Racely are the leading wagon 
makers and smiths of the place. They are young men 
of skill, muscle and energy, and are bound to win. 
They have a fine, commodious building, well stocked 
with wood and iron, ready at all times to do work in 
their line neatly and satisfactorily. : 

Mr. John Helmenstein is the " boss " boot and shoe 
maker. John is an old settler, and has, aside from 
an exceptionally large trade in the shop and shoe 
store, one of the very best farms in Wisconsin, which 
is manned from his own household, having six hardy 
sons, who, by the way, are most excellent farmers. 
John is one of the oldest settlers at present in town. 

Mr. James B. Quinn is doing a large business in 
the harness trade. Being a first-class workman him- 
self, and having only good journeymen in his shop, 
the public cannot help but be satisfied with his work. 
Mr. Quinn is also doing a good business in the liquor 
trade. AVe recommend Mr. Q as a first-class man. 

0. W. Miller, carpenter and joiner, is an old settler, 



248 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLUE MOUNDS. 

a first-class mechanic, and the best shot in Iowa 
county. We might descant on his many virtues, but all 
to no end, for every one within a hundred miles knows 
" Old Tony the Scout." Mr. Miller is an old plains 
man, Indian fighter, scout, and the best natured, big- 
gest hearted, and most contented man living; that is 
" our opinion." 

Dr. R. "W. Jones, a Kentnckian bred and born, is 
the only physician in the village. There are no law- 
yers nearer than Black Earth, Mazomanie or Dodge- 
ville. The general health of this place and the sur- 
rounding country is remarkably good, and free from 
the results of malaria in less favored localities. 

Black Earth, Mineral Point, Mazomanie and Madi- 
son, are the railroad points to and from which all our 
wares come and go. So much for Pokerville. 

Among others doing a good trade in general mer- 
chandise, is Mattheus Gratz, who is favorably known 
through a large portion of this and adjoining towns. 
Carl Morhrhenney and Son are also known as good 
mechanics in the blacksmith business; while Ole 
Olsen has a steady increasing custom in harness mak- 
ing and repairing. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 249 



WINDSOR. 



BY SHERMAN BROTHERS. 



The town of Windsor is on the north tier of towns 
in the county of Dane, lying IN". N. E. from the city 
of Madison about twelve miles. Bounded north by 
the town of Leeds, Columbia county; east by the 
town of Bristol; south by the town of Burke; and 
west by the town of Vienna. 

About three-fourths of the town is high, smooth, 
rolling prairie; about one-fourth openings and grove 
timber^ with a small portion of marsh lands. 

Two creeks take their rise in Windsor, known as 
Token and Catfish creeks; the most important of 
which is Token creek, its prominent source being 
three springs, from which a sufficient amount of water 
gushes out of the earth at the foot of a small hill to 
run a mill. 

The soil of the town is very rich and productive, 
easy to till, nearly all of which is under cultivation. 

At the time of the Black Hawk war, the munitions 
of war and soldiers on their way from Madison to Fort 
Winnebago passed through the town of Windsor, and 
the amount of travel made such a trail that some 
traces of it may still be seen. 

When Mr. Robert L. Ream, in 1839, made a jour- 
ney from Madison to Fort Winnebago, he started 



250 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 

on horse back, and took this trail. There were only 
two houses between the fort and Madison, those of 
William Lawrence, near Token Creek, and Wallis 
Rowan, near Poynette, on the military road. Mr. 
Ream put up at Rowan's, and after being bountifully 
supplied with hoe cake and bacon by Mrs. Rowan, re- 
tired to rest. He was woke up early in the morning 
by several cocks crowing in close proximity to his 
bed, and discovered that the rail of his bed was the 
roost of Mr. Rowan's chickens. When he returned 
from the fort, he put up at the same place, and slept 
in the same bed, and says when he awoke, he thought 
he had a flock of sheep for his bedfellows, but they 
afterwards proved to be a number of Indians with new 
blankets, who had noiselessly taken possession of the 
floor during his slumbers, and the new white blankets 
were the results of a visit to some trading post. 

The first actual settler was Wm. Lawrence. He 
came from the state of Vermont, and settled in the 
town in the year 1841, on section 5, on what is well 
known as Eagle Point, or the Ilelden farm, now 
owned by Hon. J. C. Hopkins, of the city of Madison. 
Mr. Lawrence was one of the patriots from this town 
who enlisted in the Union Army during the late re- 
bellion. He was taken sick while in the service, came 
home and died at his residence in Windsor. 

Soon after the settlement of Mr. Lawrence, James 
Morrison, a Scotchman, settled on Section 6, near 
what is now known as Morrison Station. Mr. Mor ■ 
rison was a man of ability as a farmer; succeeded to 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 251 

accumulate a good property; settled two of his sons 
on fine large farms near his residence, and at his 
death, about one rear ago, left his other son in pos- 
session of the old homestead. 

About cotemporary with Mr. Morrison's settlement 
was that of Thos. Campbell, another Scotchman, who 
settled on section 17, near what is now the village of 
De Forest. Mr. C. has also been successful in tilling 
the soil. Surrounded by many of the good things of 
this life, he is still living to enjoy them. 

Mr. Pellett soon after built a log house on sec. 30, 
on the farm once known as the Turner farm, but now 
as the Spencer farm. The same year Mr. Leland set- 
tled on Sec. 30,on what is now owned by S. H. Sabin. 
Their log houses still stand, but they have had some 
repairs. Messrs. P. and L. were both from the state 
of Yermont. 

Charles Lawrence came from the state of Vermont 
in 1838; married a Miss Moore in the city of Madi- 
son; built a house and commenced to improve a farm 
in the year 1842, at Token Creek, in the town of 
Windsor. Mr. Lawrence has three children — Henry, 
James and Ellis. Henry was the first male child 
born in Windsor. He married Miss Bertha Miller 
in Windsor, and they are now living in the city of 
Madison. Henry Lawrence is a mechanic of superior 
skill as a painter. 

In the same year of Mr. Lawrence's settlement 
(184:2), Randall Abner, a well educated Indian im- 
proved a piece of land on sec. 28, known for many 



252 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 

years as the " Old Abner 40;" now owned by Jeffer- 
son A. Pinney. Mr. Abner was a sweet singer, took 
an active part in politics, and was' a good man in 
many respects. He emigrated to California some 
twenty years ago, joined the United States Regular 
Army as a scout, and was killed, in the discharge of 
such duty, by an Indian. 

In the year 1843, Mr. Nathan Spalding left his 
native state (Vermont), and, after a long journej 7 , a 
part of the way traveling with an ox team, he halted 
in the town of Windsor, himself, wife and three chil- 
dren much worn out by fatigue. He built a house 
on section 34, and improved a fine piece of land. Mr. 
S. was a good man. He held several offices in town 
during life. He was commissioned by President 
Polk as postmaster, which office he held for twenty- 
five years. He died in December, 1874. 

About cotemporary with the settlement of Mr. 
Spalding was that of Mr. Toffelmire. He built a 
house on the town line at Token Creek; made a dam 
across the creek, and just below it put up a saw mill 
in the town of Burke. 

In 1844-5, N. N. Pike and James West, Sr., squatted 
on section 5; Thomas Kewin, Thomas Cummings and 
John Kershaw, on section 6; James West, Jr., and 
Major Kinnison on section 8; Samuel Stephenson 
was the first settler on section 17. Kershaw and 
Stephenson left to seek their fortunes in California 
during the gold excitement of 1849. Kershaw re- 
turned, and is now a prosperous farmer in the adjoin- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 253 

ing town of Vienna. All of these early settlers Lave 
removed, most of them in 1847, when a number of 
Norwegian families located in the northwest part of 
the town and purchased the former claims. Among 
these were Ingebrecht Larson, Peter Linde, Stephen 
Holum and Sinr and Johannes Grinde. This year, 
J. W. Helden, of the firm of Helden & Weston, j)ro- 
prietors of the "Fay" saw mill, in Wood county, 
Wisconsin, sold his interest in the mill, and other ex- 
tensive lumbering interests, bought the place first 
owned by Wm. Lawrence, added large tracts of land 
to the original purchase, and introduced valuable 
stock, having for many years conducted a stock farm. 
The place was then known as "Eagle Point." He 
kept hotel. The building, a log structure, one of the 
earliest landmarks, is still standing, suggesting happy 
recollections to travelers and early settlers. 

From 1845 to 1846, there was a rush of immi- 
gration into the town from various parts of the world, 
viz.: Daniel W. Stone, from Maine; Elias Combs, 
Wm. Whitney, Samuel Burrington, Sylvester Ray- 
mond, James Dorman, Wm. Bartholomew, Morris 
Goodrich, and many more, from the state of Ohio; 
Christian O. Hatleberg, from Norway, the first Scan- 
dinavian settler; and Ferdinand Rekon, the first Ger- 
man settler, O. M. Cross, Josiah E. Carpenter, Rev. 
Elisha R. Swain (a Baptist clergyman), Willard 
Blanchar, James Farwell, Orrin Chamberlain, Leon- 
ard and Justin Fish, Isaac Porter, Warren Baird, 
Nathan Rowley, S. H. Sabin, Justin C. Pinney, James 



254 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 

Patterson, Dr. Robert K. Bell, Nathan Dodge, and 
others from different parts. 

Samuel Stevenson was the first Englishman. He 
settled this same year on section 1 7, and commenced to 
improve the farm known as the " Durkee Farm," and 
subsequently as the " De Forest Farm," which atone 
time was the largest farm in Windsor. 

In the fall of 1846, the town was organized with 
the towns of Burke, Westport and Vienna, and as many 
of the early settlers were from Vermont, it was their 
intention to name the town "Allen," in honor of Eth- 
an Allen, the eccentric representative of the Green 
Mountain State, but on presentation of the name to 
the legislature it was found that there was already a 
town by the name of " Allen " in the state, and con- 
sequently another name must be adopted for the pro- 
posed new town. When the citizens had learned this 
fact, the question of a name for the town was upon 
every body's tongue. While this was being dis- 
cussed at a social gathering of a few neighbors, it 
occurred to Mrs. J, E. Carpenter and Mrs. Wm. Whit- 
ney, who were present, that the town should be called 
"Windsor," in commemoration of Windsor, Vt., the 
native town of Mrs. Whitney. Windsor, said these 
good matrons, is a pretty name, and old Windsor, in 
the Green Mountain State is worthy of a namesake in 
the Badger State and why not call the new town 
Windsor? " Windsor.*' "Windsor." resounded from 
all parts of the room, and " Windsor" was soon ech- 
oed from the surrounding neighborhood. Without 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — WINDSOR. 255 

further formality the name " Windsor " was sent up 
to the legislature and became the established name of 
the new town. Thus it was that these two worthy 
ladies gave the town a name. Mrs. Carpenter still 
lives within its limits, enjoying a competency of the 
good things of this life, the result of honest industry, 
but Mrs. Whitney, some years ago, emigrated to the 
state of Iowa. 

The first election was held in the spring following, 
at the house of Horace Lawrence, then known as the 
Prairie House, in the township of Burke, and elected 
Charles M. Nichols chairnun of the board of super- 
visors, who lived on section 36, in the township of 
Burke; Eleazer Grover and Mr. Pettit were his asso- 
ciates; Ira Mead, town clerk; Selden Combs, treas- 
urer; and Elias Combs, justice of the peace. 

The first wedding party in Windsor was at the log 
house of Wm. Whitney, about one mile north of 
Token Creek. Josiah E. Carpenter, Esq., and Miss 
Caroline M. Reynolds were joined in wedlock by Rev. 
E. R. Swain. A large company were there on the 
occasion. Joy, glee, mirth and happiness were un- 
bounded. Venison, roast pig, and other good things 
were placed on the table, and eaten with a relish not 
often seen in these latter days. The Elder remarked 
to the young married couple that "they must not be 
surprised if they did not always have so good a meal;" 
but we are happy to say that whenever we have dined 
at Mr. C.'s house, which frequently we have done, we 
invariably have found a well spread table. 



256 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 

The first female child born in Windsor was at the 
same log house, the daughter of the before mentioned 
Rev. E. R. Swain. The child was named Delia. 
Although a delicate child, she grew up to be a strong 
girl; received a fine education at the seminary at 
Beaver Dam, Wis., married a Mr. Ringland, and they 
are now living in Boone, Boone county, state of Iowa. 
The old log house is still standing. 

Our space will not allow us to record but little of 
the characteristics of these early settlers, and perhaps 
we shall weary the readers of this volume with our 
lengthy history. We must beg indulgence simply to 
say this much, that all of them had the true spirit of 
pioneers. They enjoyed frontier life. It was " Hale 
fellows well met," in those days. Neighbor received 
neighbor at his cabin with cordiality, and travelers 
were made welcome to their hospitality. The small log 
cabin with already two or three families in it, would 
be found large enough for another family when some 
others came to make a home among them. There 
was no ambition then to see who could wear the finest 
clothes, drive the fastest horse, ride in the finest car- 
riage, or live in the highest style; but they were am- 
bitious to see who could break the largest number of 
acres of the prairie and opening lands. There was a 
competition to see who could grow the most wheat 
and other products of the soil. They were a moral 
people. Quarrels, broils and disturbances seldom oc- 
curred, and law suits w T ere exceedingly rare. They 
were not unmindful in matters of religion. With 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 257 

the Rev. E. R. Swain for their minister, preacher and 
pastor, they were well instructed out of the word of 
God. They listened, heard and obeyed. Few men who 
preach the gospel of Christ will ever compare favora- 
bly with E. R. Swain. It is written, "Woe imto you 
when all men speak well of you." It has often been 
said, the Elder is free from the woe, one speaks evil 
and one alone; his words can do the Elder no harm. 
Elder Swain sold his farm in town, and removed to 
Iowa about ten years ago, where he still lives with 
one of his sons. 

After the organization of the town, immigration 
rapidly increased. English, Germans, Norwegians, 
and people from different states settled on the fine 
prairie lands of the town, built better houses than the 
first settlers had done, and large portions of the rich, 
black sod were annually cut and turned over by the 
plow. The prairie was soon dotted all over with com- 
fortable homes, and nearly every acre was brought 
nnder cultivation. 

In this class of settlers, we beg leave to mention the 

the names of Thomas Bewick, William G. Bartlett, 

George Cole, ^English/ William Walk, William Wer- 

nick, John Hinder and his sons John C, Frederick, 

and Christian, and also his son-in-law Frederick Pev- 

ion; Ernst Miller, Jas. Meixner and his sons Jas. I., 

John, Antone, and Frank; Ferdinand Gomalke, Flo- 

rian Schambra, Henry A. Miller, Henry Brockmiller 

and others, Germans/ John Olsen, Shure Shureson, 

John Knudtson, and others, Norwegians; John Bur- 
17 



258 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 

rington and his sons Jonathan, Rial, Daniel, Calvin 
and Charles; Franklin and Martin Ililliard, Austin 
Freeman, Allison and Tertius Turner, James Cle- 
ments and E. P. Sherman, from different states. 

About the year 1853, Hon. Charles Durkee left 
his comfortable home in Kenosha, Wis., and pur- 
chased Mr. Stevenson's property, already well im- 
proved, and soon after 600 acres of section 16 (a school, 
section); put the whole of section 16 under the 
plow in one year, purchased a large flock of sheep 
and other stock, and commenced farming on a big 
scale. Seven hundred sheep were shorn in one year; 
4,000 bushels of buckwheat grown in another year, 
and as high as 8,000 bushels of spring wheat sent to 
market, one of the products of this farm for a single 
year. Mr. Durkee soon made sale of his farm at $25 
per acre, to Mr. Isaac N. DeForest; went to Utah, 
was made governor of the territory, and died on his 
way to visit his old home in Kenosha, about two years 
ago. 

The Madison and Portage Kailroad, connecting the 
city of Madison with Portage City, is the only line of 
railroad passing through the town of Windsor. Pre- 
vious to the location of this road, two other lines of 
railroad had been surveyed, passing from corner to 
corner through the town, and crossing each other on 
section 26, E. P. Sherman's land; but neither of these 
two lines were ever built. 

The Madison & Portage Kailroad is about 40 miles 
in length, and would prove an important link in any 
railroad line leading from north to south through the 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — WINDSOR. 250 

central part of the state. In its incipient stages, this 
road had a hard struggle for existence, lying almost 
dormant for several years after being surve} r ed, and 
the people of Windsor began to despair of ever hav- 
ing a railroad pass through their town. But about 
the year 18G9, a new impetus was given to the enter- 
prise through the indomitable courage and persever- 
ance of James Campbell, president of the company, 
assisted by Robert Sanderson as secretary, and an 
efficient board of directors. Through their influence 
the towns along the line of the road, and at its ter- 
mini, were induced to purchase stock of the company, 
either paying cash or giving bonds for- the same; and, 
with the aid thus afforded, the road was completed 
in the year 1870. In the matter of furnishing aid for 
this enterprise, the town of Windsor generously fur- 
nished six thousand dollars in cash, and now holds 
the company's stock certificates for that amount. 

In the matter of schools and school houses, Wind- 
sor compares favorably with other towns in Dane 
county. The rude log school houses of the early set- 
tlers have given place to neat and convenient edifices; 
and many of the modern improvements in school 
house furniture have been adopted. A striking con- 
trast between the school houses of the early settlers 
and those of the present day is seen in District No. 1 
near Token Creek village, where the first log school 
house in town was built. A large and well propor- 
tioned white edifice, now crowns the summit of a 
gentle eminence, within half a mile of the site of the 



260 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 

old log house. Other districts in town show equal- 
ly striking contrasts. But the log school houses had 
their day of usefulness, and will be held in grate- 
ful remembrance by many intelligent men and wo- 
men of the present day, who received the first rudi- 
ments of education at these primitive edifices. 

Three villages, Windsor, De Forest and Morrison, 
are located on the line of the Madison and Portage 
Railroad, within the limits of the town of Windsor. 
Each village is favored with a railroad station; each 
has an express office, and each is a market for grain 
and other farm products. And although these villages 
are only about two miles apart, and are within ten 
miles of other competing markets, still quite an 
amount of business is done at each; about 100,000 
bushels of wheat, 15,000 bushels of barley, and 
15,000 bushels of oats on the average, are annually 
shipped from these three stations, besides consider- 
able quantities of corn, potatoes, wool, hides, poultry, 
butter, eggs, live stock, etc. From the village of 
Windsor alone, ten to fifteen thousand dollars worth 
of live hogs are annually shipped. Each of the three 
stations has its lumber yard, and large quantities of 
lumber are annually sold at each. 

Among the enterprising business men of Windsor 
village, are Sherman Bros., proprietors of the Wind- 
sor cheese factory, and dealers in grain, lumber, flour, 
feed, salt, live stock, etc., being the successors of E. P. 
Sherman; Greenman Bros, are the leading merchants, 
and have a large trade in their line of business. H. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — WINDSOR. 261 

B. Lake is the only druggist; R. F. Sherman runs a 
tin and hardware shop. He is particularly noted for 
his skill as a cheese-maker, and has charge of the 
Windsor cheese factory. C B. Wilsey runs a suc- 
cessful blacksmith shop, and C. E. Carlton does a 
good business as carriage maker. 

De Fokest. — At De Forest is a substantial and 
capacious grain elevator, owned and operated by 
H. S. Grinde, Esq. Over 70,000 bushels of wheat, 
besides other grain, have been shipped through this 
elevator in one year. Dennis Crawley owns a ware- 
house, and buys grain, etc., and keeps a stock of lum- 
ber. Moldstad, Dahl & Durkee, general merchants. 
K. Knud son's machine shops are located at this place. 
The proprietor, a skilled and practical mechanic, does 
an extensive business. 

At Morrison Station, there is a grain warehouse 
and general store, conducted by Mr. Watkins. 

WINDSOR IN THE WAR BY HERBERT A. LEWIS. 

We have been kindly furnished the following war 
history, together with news of the churches, by Mr. 
Herbert A. Lewis, whose long and intimate acquaint- 
ance with the town is a sufficient guaranty for the ac- 
curacy of its interesting details: 

During the war of the rebellion, the town did its full share. Ac- 
cording to the records, the town was required to furnish seventy- 
three soldiers, as its part of the great armies summoned to the de- 
fense of the Union. It furnished eighty-six. No regular organization 
was raised in the town, as the volunteers were scattered through 
many different regiments. The town was largely represented in 



262 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — WINDSOR. 

the first cavalry, the thirty-third, thirty-sixth, fortieth, and other 
Wisconsin regiments. 

Among those who died in the service were, William Lawrence, hi 
the first cavalry; John T. Vincent, of the Berdan Sharpshooters; 
Chester Porter, Abram Bartholomew, and Henry Goodrich, of the 
thirty-third regiment; Adam Smith, of this regiment, was killed at 
the battle of Tupelo, in Mississippi m the summer of 1864. Mar- 
shal Combs enlisted in the second Iowa regiment at the breaking 
out of the war, and at the bloody battle of Fort Donaldson was 
wounded, and came home to die. His cousin, Melvin Combs, also 
died in the service. Col. Clement E. Warner, at present an influ- 
ential resident of the town, raised a company for the thirty-sixth 
regiment. Being the first captain mustered in, he became the rank- 
ing captain. The thirty-sixth arrived at the front in Virginia about 
the first of May, 1864, and engaged at once in the bloody battles of 
that year in Virginia. In less than three weeks after its arrival, its 
field officers had all been killed or wounded, and Capt. Warner 
found himself in command of the regiment. He was commissioned 
major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel, before the close of the war. 
While holding the office of lieutenant colonel, and while in com- 
mand of his regiment at the battle of Deep Bottom, on the 14th of 
August, 1864, he lost his left arm, by a ininnie ball. As soon as he 
had recovered from the amputation, he returned to his regiment and 
remained in command until the close of the war. At the time of the 
surrender of Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant, the thirty-sixth was stationed 
just in front of the place where these distinguished officers arranged 
the terms, and it was to Col. Warner that Gen. Mead announced the 
fact that Lee had surrendered. Col. Warner has since represented 
the eastern district of Dane county hi the state senate. He is still a 
substantial farmer in the town. 

Samuel S. Brink was a member of the thirty-sixth, and lost a foot 
in one of the early battles hi which the regiment was engaged. 

Anson D. Goodrich enlisted in the thirty-tliird regiment as a pri- 
vate, but was appomted orderly sergeant, and was afterwards com- 
missioned first lieutenant of his company. S. H. Sabin was first 
lieutenant of company D. of the fortieth regiment. This was one 
of the hundred days regiments, and the town had a large repre- 
sentation in its ranks. 

Otis Remick, at one time a teacher in the FarweU school house, 
near where the village of Windsor now stands, enlisted in the first 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WINDSOR. 263 

regiment of three months' men, and afterwards in the eleventh 
regiment, in which he was an orderly sergeant, then first lieutenant, 
then captain, and was finally commissioned as major. After the 
war, Major Remick took up his residence in New Orleans, where he 
still resides. 

E. Ct. Miller, who at one time taught the school in the Token 
Creek district, also enlisted in the first regiment of three months' 
men, and was afterwards a captain in the twentieth regiment. He 
has since been a member of the Iowa State Senate. Moulton De 
Forest was a captain in the eighteenth regiment. Newton De For- 
est was first lieutenant and afterwards major in the second cavalry. 
Both these officers were sons of I. N. De Forest, from whom the 
village of De Forest takes its name. 

From this it will be seen that the town was not behind its neigh- 
bors in doing its share in that great struggle which achieved the 
grand result of proclaiming liberty hi all the land. 

The religious history of the town is interesting. The first preach- 
ing was by Rev. Philip Eveleth, a Congregational minister, who 
preached in the old log school house at the foot of the north side of 
Token Creek hill. 

CHURCHES. 

The first church organized was the Baptist church, of which Rev. 
E. R. Swain, heretofore referred to, was the pastor. This church 
was organized in 18*46, and was for a long time the leading church 
in the town. Elder Swain was indefatigable in his labors to build 
it up. In 1S49, it was blessed with a revival which added largely 
to its numbers. Circumstances being such, its pastor thought it 
best to seek another home, the church having declined in numbers 
until it has but a few left in its organization. 

The Methodists, with their unconquerable will and their un- 
quenchable zeal, have also made the town one of their preaching 
places, and at one time had an organization there. The different 
preachers of that denomination, who will be well remembered, were 
Father Fox, Rev. Geo. Delamatyr, Rev. Mr. Bunce, Rev. Mr. Bol- 
ton, Rev. Mr. Cobbin, and others. Father Fox was an old gentle- 
man with many eccentricities, and many an anecdote of his keen 
witted retorts are remembered. 

The Congregational church was organized in April, 1851, at the 
Farwell school house, by Rev. C. W. Matthews, who for a long time 
preached to them on alternate sabbaths, supplying also the church of 



264 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — WINDSOR. 

the same denomination at Sun Prairie. At its organization it had 
but six members. Kev. Philip Eveleth, who had preached the first 
sermon in the town, became a member of this church at that time. 
Its members were so few that in its infancy it was seriously con- 
templated that it be disbanded; but, in 1853, it was encouraged by 
the addition of a few new members, among whom were Deacon 
Warner and his wife, who have since been closely identified with it, 
and took courage and struggled on. In August, 1853, it became 
connected with the Madison District Convention, and Newton Lewis 
was its first delegate. In 1855, this church was farther strengthened 
by the arrival of Hon. W. H. Chandler, who has since been one of 
the prominent men of the state. Mr. Chandler and his wife were 
for years among the most reliable working members of the church. 

In the spring of 1858, a large revival took place in the town, in 
which all the churches united. Rev. Almon Whitman, pastor of 
the Baptist Church at Sun Prairie, was the preacher on this occas- 
ion. The spirit of unity at this time was so great that an attempt 
was made to abandon all the church organizations, and to form a 
union church. This was only partially successful, as some, from 
conscientious reasons, were unwilling to abandon the churches they 
had loved so long. A union church was formed, however, in which 
every member of the Congregational Church joined, and many of 
the other denominations. This continued till 1864, when, by con- 
sent of all its members, it was again united to the Madison District 
Convention of Congregational Churches. In 1858, it enjoyed the 
ministration of Rev. J. P. Smith, then just starting in his profes- 
sion, who is now a missionary in Turkey in Asia. Rev. George 
Delamatyr, a Methodist, and Rev. 0. 0. Stearns, a Baptist, for 
some years preached to the church. The first steps to erect a church 
were taken in the fall of 1860, and Deacon Warner spent the elec- 
tion day of 1860 in asking subscriptions for the new enterprise of the 
citizens as they came together to exercise their rights as voters. The 
church was erected during the year 1861, and was dedicated in 
March, 1862, Rev. Mr. Donaldson, then acting pastor, preaching 
the sermon. The cost of the edifice wa? $1,500, and as church 
debts were not fashionable then, it was all paid for. Mr. Donaldson 
lived at Beaver Dam, and drove that long distance in order to meet 
his appointments. Rev. Mr. Sedgwick preached to the church for 
a tune, in 1864. Rev. C. M. Morehouse preached in 1865 and 1866. 

In the winter of 1866, a large and powerful revival took place, 



\ 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — WINDSOR. 265 

under the preaching of Rev. P. C. Pettibone, of Beloit. In 1866 
Rev. Richard Hassell became the pastor of the church, and con- 
tinued so for about three years. Mr. Hassell is now a resident of 
Grinnell, Iowa. He was succeeded by Rev. S. 13. Demarest, who 
remained about four years. 

After a short time in which Rev. Mr. Williamson preached, the 
church called the present pastor, Rev. W. A. Lyman. Soon after 
his coming there was a revival, succeeded by large accessions to the 
church. There has recently been erected, at a spot about half-way 
between the church and the village of Windsor, a neat parsonage 
for the use of the pastor. 

In the German settlement, in the northern part of the town a 
church was erected and dedicated in the year 1876, by the German 
Methodists. These good people have always been forward in good 
works hi the town. Mr. Frederick Pivian, a prominent member of 
this society, often officiates as pastor. 

There is also in this part of the town a large society of Primitive 
Lutherans, that have been organized as a church for about eight 
years, Rev. 0. Hill, recently from Illinois, is the present pastor. 

In 1876 a Moravian church (German) was organized by Rev. 
William Slingle, and the site for a church edifice selected. 

At DeForest there is a large society of Norwegian Lutherans, who 
worship at Norway Grove church, in the town of Vienna. There is 
a Norwegian school connected with the church, in charge of T. 
Thomson. 

Among some of the business men not already men- 
tioned in the preceding pages are the following: 

Windsor — E. P. Sherman, notary public and agent for railroad 
and express companies; T. O'Deir and J. W. Vincent, carpenters; 
Elisha Lake, boDt and shoemaker. Robt. Burrington, has recently 
purchased the store occupied by H. B. Lake, and is adding consid- 
erable to its size and convenience. Mr. Lake is also engaged in 
building a new store. J. W. Vincent has charge of the Windsor 
Hotel, where gaests will meet with courteous treatment and good 
fare at reasonable rates. 

DeForest — A. L. Dahl, artist; A. Nelson, sewing machine 
agent and bookseller; K. Nelson and Bros., carpenters; C. Jah- 
land and Bros., painters. 



266 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BERET. 



BERRY. 

BY OTTO KERL, Esq., AND WM. S. CROWTHER, Esq. 

The town of Berry is situated in the western part 
of Dane county, and lies south of the town of Rox- 
bury, west of the town of Springfield, north of the 
town of Cross Plains, and east of the town of Black 
Earth. The general character of the town is hilly, 
although there are several rich valleys, the largest 
being Halfway Prairie, which is sometimes called the 
English settlement, and that portion of Black Earth 
valley, which crosses the southwest corner of the town. 
The bluffs are timbered with several kinds of oak, 
cherry and poplar, the last being a recent growth, and 
admirably adapted for fencing. The poplars grow in 
groves, long and straight, and are cut when about six 
inches in thickness, sawed into fencing, and consider- 
ed by many as superior to pine fencing. They seem 
to be especially provided by Providence for such pur- 
poses, as the large oaks, formerly used in fencing, are 
all gone. The town is abundantly supplied with wa- 
ter, there being a number of springs and creeks, 
with several mill sites, one of which, on the Black 
Earth creek, is being improved for a flouring mill. 
The climate is very healthy, there being no stagnant 
water or marshes. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BEERY. 267 

The town was first settled in 1843, by James Mills, 
Captain Amos Heald, Albert Skinner, Joseph Roger- 
son and Hood, on Black Earth valley, and a 

year or two later by Mr. Barnes and Mr. Hyer, on 
Halfway Prairie. 

In 1845, a large number of English came out under 
a colonization society, which was organized in the city 
of Manchester, England, in 1842, called the " British 
Temperance Emigration Society." They located sev- 
eral of their claims in this town, and the following 
persons came out in 1845: John Whiteman, John 
Mead, James and William Bowman, G-eo. Draper, 
Francis "Wilson, John Ford, John Saville and James 
Crowther. This last gentleman relinquished his 
claim, giving it away, saying, "it was dear at a gift," 
and bought Albert Skinner's farm, on section 31, 
which had the first frame house in the town. His 
claim was situated on what was called "long break- 
ing," in the town of Mazomanie, a miserable sandy 
prairie that would not grow white beans. This so 
enraged the officers of the society that they sent 
word to England that Mr. Crowther had left a 
nice farm and gone and settled in a swamp (which, 
by-the-way, was every foot dry and good land). 
In after years, when they would come up to see 
him, he would say, " let us go out and see my 
swamp." 

In 1847, several more English settled there, among 
which were Thomas, Samuel and Edward Barber, 
Thomas Haynes and George Bates. 



268 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BERRY. 



Many amusing incidents are remembered of these 
early settlers; most of the English coming from man- 
ufacturing towns in the old country, were, to use a 
phrase, somewhat " green " respecting farms and 
farming, which the following incident will illus- 
trate: Two parties (who afterwards became prominent 
and thrifty farmers) came to Joseph Rogerson, anoth- 
er English settler, who came out in 1S43 and settled 
on section 32, to buy his claim. After partaking of 
a frugal meal, which consisted of pork and corn bread, 
the latter made into the remembered "johnny cake," 
they went out to see the farm, examine the soil, etc.; 
after they got out to the field, one of them commenced 
to jump and spring on the ground, saying to Mr. 
Rogerson "is this land sound?" The latter, in a 
(feigned) terrified air said, " My G — d, friend, do 
not do that or you will go down about twenty feet." 
It is also related of another who, before he was "natu- 
ralized," commenced planting his corn, and had about 
an acre planted before he found out his mistake; he 
had planted an ear in each hill. 

In 1847, the Germans first commenced to settle, the 
first comers being Otto Kerl and Mr. Anhalt. They 
rapidly settled in, till the whole town was taken up. 
But very few of the old English settlers are now alive 
to tell the tale of the trials and hardships of the early 
settlement of the town; most of them have gone to 
" that bourne from whence no traveler returns." The 
town now is almost entirely Germans, who, by-the- 
way, make our very best citizens. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BEKRY. 269 

111 1849-50 a number of Germans settled here, ana 
the town has continued to fill up from time to time 
until it is now almost all cleared and broken up for 
cultivation. 

The town was organized in 1850, and the first town 
meeting held on the 2d day of April, 1850. Twenty- 
four votes were cast, and sixty dollars raised for town 
purposes. The names of the voters were "Win. Ses- 
ton, Otto Kerl, John "W. Ford, Thomas Barber, George 
Stevens, Henry Carden, John "Wightman, John Savelle, 
George Draper, Edward Barber, Francis Wilson, 
Thomas Hawley, John II. Roberts, "Wm. Hawley, 
John Gray, Thomas Haynes, Joseph Harrison, Ed- 
mund Ellis, Joseph Bowman, Samuel Hawley, Wil- 
liam Bowman, John Mead, Henry Paddelford, Abijah 
Davis. And the following officers were elected : Su- 
pervisors — Joseph Bowman, chairman ; Thomas 
Haynes and John "Wightman. Town Clerk — Samuel 
Hawley. Treasurer — Thomas Barber. Justices of 
the Peace — Thomas Haynes and Joseph Harrison. 
Superintendent of School — Edward Barber. Con- 
stables — Henry Carden and Aug. Barnes. Assessor — 
George Draper. 

In those early times there were plenty of deer, and 
often as many as twenty-four head at a time were 
seen feeding upon the fields of winter wheat sown by 
the early settlers. The town was a favorite resort 
with the Indians, because of the quantity of game 
frequenting this section of country, and their camp 
was about one-half mile from my house. In the fall 



270 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BERRY. 

of 1848, about sixty-five of them and their families 
remained near my land, on section 27, for about six 
weeks, killing deer. When they prepared to depart, 
they loaded each of their ponies with a fresh killed 
deer, which they purposed carrying to Milwaukee to 
sell. They made frequent visits to my house for 
flour and salt, and the most friendly relationship ex- 
isted between them and my family, we passing in and 
out of their camp as often as opportunity permitted 
us. On one occasion, while I was making hay near 
their camp, three squaws came with long sticks or 
canes and helped turn the hay. When done, they 
signified by signs that they had done so because I 
had given them flour and salt. 

The deer continued plentiful for a number of years, 
but the constant settling up of the town, and the kill- 
ing of them, made their appearance very scarce, so 
that the last deer known to have been killed in the 
town was by myself in 1856. 

A frequent and very troublesome annoyance to the 
settlers was the great number of wolves that made the 
night hideous with howling, and would even attack the 
stock if suitable care was not taken to keep the cattle 
in places of safety. In the winter it was sometimes 
unsafe, even in the day time, to be unarmed, as they 
followed teams of horses or oxen, watching every 
opportunity to attack them. One winter in 1847, 
between Christmas and New Year, Conrad Scheele, 
a young man living with me, started out with the ox 
team and sleigh to go to Clark's Corners, in Spring- 




From Mitchell's New School Geography. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BEEEY. 273 

field, to get a few bushels of potatoes from Joseph 
Knippschild, and after being gone about an hour, 
came back to arm himself, because the wolves were so 
numerous and savage he could not make any progress 
on the road. 

On Table Bluff, the highest bluff in the town, sec- 
tion 29, there are a number of Indian mounds that 
are in the form of small hills, others Ions' or oblone;, 
while some of them take the shape of animals, such 
as bears, snakes, etc. On section 27, where my land 
is, there are several long ones, also having the form of 
animals. 

There is evidence on sections 21 and 29 that the 
aborigines were engaged in mining or digging for 
some valuable minerals or flints, before the white set- 
tlers came to this town. Large excavations are seen 
showing where the soil has been thrown out for some 
purpose that we are not made aware of in our time. 
Perhaps to obtain the copper masses, or boulders from 
which they made their tools. 

In those days the postal arrangements in the town 
were not within the requirements of our modern 
conveniences, and perhaps could not be better told 
than to relate an incident that came under my own 
observation. The nearest post-office was Madison, 
and letters for the town of Berry had to come over 
the Sauk road, by way of Mr. Dunlap's, then some- 
time afterwards it would be carried from there to 
Cross Plains, and then to Mr. Thomas, who was 
postmaster, on section 10. A friend and myself 
calling for letters at his house were informed by Mrs. 
18 



271 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BERRY. 

Thomas that her husband was in the meadow haying, 
where we went and found him mowing with a sickle 
one foot long After the compliments of the day were 
passed, we asked if there w r ere any letters for us. lie 
replied that he would see, and sitting down on his 
haunches he very carefully with both hands took oft 
his hat (which was a genuine stovepipe of no very 
recent style), tumbled out a number of letters on 
the ground, looked them over for us, and then re- 
placed the hat and its contents on his head. We were 
Germans, but we had never seen a portable post-office 
before, nor had any conceptions of the weighty corres- 
pondence of many heads being carried in one, and 
then covered with a stovepipe hat; but that was the 
post-office of Cross Plains. 

The nearest mills that we had were Hickoeks', in 
Iowa county, Sugar River Mill, and the Lodi Mill; 
and the inconvenience of the early settlers in getting 
their wheat gristed was sometimes scarcely possible 
in cur times to imagine. On one occasion, I carried 
a grist to Hickoeks' Mill and found the mill stopped 
and undergoing repair; I then started for the mill at 
Sugar River, but found that also broken down and 
repairing, which ultimately compelled me to go to 
Janesville, before I could get my wheat gristed; 
occupying about six days going and returning. Mr. 
John Cropper started a mill at Halfway Prairie creek 
in 1863, but afterwards moved it to Mazomanie. 

In 1852, I started a brewery, and continued in the 
business until 1861. In 1862, George Esser also 
started a brewery, and has built up a large business. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BERRY. 275 

111 the southeast part of the town there is a large 
Catholic church, built of stone, and with a fine spire 
tkat can be seen for miles around. The present 
pastor is the Rev. John Friode, a well educated and 
sociable gentleman. There is also a Catholic school 
connected with the church. In the center of the 
town there is a German Lutheran church, under the 
pastoral charge of the Rev. Mr. Schenk, of Middleton. 
The town has six school districts. 

The first store in town was kept by Hartwig 
Meyer, at Halfway Prairie;, and for several years Mr. 
Christian Henrichs also kept a store at the above 
place. There is no store at present. 

The town is well supplied with stone for building 
purposes; and Mr. Peter Rouls has a lime kiln, and 
supplies the neighborhood with burned lime. 

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad runs 
through the southwestern part of the town. In Half- 
way Prairie there is a little village called Meyer's Cor- 
ners, where are two saloons, one kept by Aug. Rie- 
ward, and the other by Herman Schneyer; two black- 
smith's shops, one by August Hagemann, and the 
other by John Hagemann ; one wagon shop, kept by 
Jacob Back; one shoe shop, kept by Carl Schuman; 
and one tailor, Chris. Luetzow. 

On sections two and eleven there is a lake known 
as Indian Lake, that has no apparent outlet. It was 
much frequented by the Indians for fishing and hunt- 
ing, but of late years, they soldom visit it, although 
many of the citizens still continue to hunt here. From 
having dried up, it is not as larjre as formerlv. 



276 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — COTTAGE GROVE. 



COTTAGE GROVE. 

BY JAS. BELL, ESQ. 

The town of Cottage Grove is situated eight miles 
east of the city of Madison, in Dane county. It is 
designated on the government surveys as town seven, 
north, range eleven, east. The general face of the 
country is somewhat rolling; the quality of the soil is 
good and productive; partially prairie and some 
oak openings, with considerable marsh or meadow 
land, yielding excellent hay and pasturage; it is un- 
der a high state of cultivation. Fine farm houses 
and barns meet the traveler at almost every turn of the 
road, indicating thrift and social independence. The 
first purchase of land from the goverment in the town- 
ship was in 1838, by Phillip Kerney, on sections eight 
and ten. In 1840, ¥m. C. Wells, Amos Harris and 
Horatio Catlin entered their lands in sections seven, 
eight and nine. 

The first town meeting was held at the house of 
Amos Beecher, April 6, 1817, when, on motion of Rev. 
J. G. Kanouse, Horatio Catlin was chosen chairman, 
S. H. Adsit and Orsamus McCray, judges of election, 
and Rufus Howard clerk. The towns of Deerfield 
and Cottage Grove were then together for political 
purposes, and at that meeting there were seventy-one 
votes cast, and the following town officers were de- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS COTTAGE GKOVE. 277 

clared duly elected: Supervisors — Henry L. Bush, 
chairman, A. E. Adsit, J. W. Butts. Clerk — Fred- 
erick A. Mitchell. Assessors — John Sunderman, 
Lucius Loss and M. W. Adsit. Justices of the Peace 
— Edmund P. Butts, J. H. Clyde, Charles Drakeley. 
Commissioners of Highways — Molton J. Hammond, 
Samuel Halawork, E. Sampson. School Commis- 
sioners — E. D. Kanouse, John Barker, Eli Sperry. 
Collector — Isaac Beecher. Constables — Isaac Beech - 
er, E. A. Sperry, George S. Butler. Sealer of 
Weights and Measures — John Deline. Fence View- 
ers — Amos Harris, Allen Kanouse, Orsamus McCray. 
These men constituted the first town officers. 

On the 20th day of April, 1849, the towns of Cot- 
tage Grove and Deerfield, by mutual agreement, sep- 
arated their political connection by the action of their 
supervisors, who on the part of Cottage Grove were, 
Charles Drakeley and Lewis WaldrufF; on the part of 
Deerfield, Allen Adsit and Emery Sampson. H. M. 
Warner was town clerk. 

Cottage Grove received its name from a burr oak 
grove, in the midst of which a public house was built, 
and where the post office was established in 1838, with 
Vm. C. Wells as post master. There are now two 
post offices in the town, the one at Cottage Grove, on 
the road leading from Madison to Watertown, and the 
other at Door Creek, on the west end of Liberty Prai- 
rie, eleven miles from the city of Madison, southeast, 
on the road from Madison to Milwaukee, by way of 
Cambridge and Fort Atkinson. Liberty Prairie cov- 



27S DANE COUNTY TOWNS COTTAGE GEOVE. 

ers about five sections in tlie soutli half of the town, and 
called so by a number of citizens who assembled on 
the highest eminence on the prairie to celebrate the 
Fourth of July, and, from the exuberance of their 
spirits, together, it is said, with something from a lit- 
tle brown jug, that on looking around on the beautiful 
prairie, they became so enchanted with the sight, 
they involuntarily cried out "Liberty Prairie." Thus 
one of the richest and most beautiful prairies in the 
state received its christening. There are three organ- 
ized churches in the town, each having a fine house 
of worship, the Presbyterian, Methodist and German 
Lutherans. The Presbyterian church was organized 
by the Rev. John G. Kanouse, in 1845, at the house 
of Horatio Catlin, his wife being an active member 
of the church, and his house the only "meeting house" 
in the town. Mr. Kanouse was minister for nearly 
twenty-five years, until his death on the 30th day of 
May, 1870. Since his death the pulpit has been filled 
by several eminent divines, such as Wm. Hendrick- 
son, Lemuel Leonard, O. P. Thompson and others. 
The Methodist church, in Cottage Grove village, was 
organized at the house of Amos Beecher, in 1S16, by 
Rev. Matthew Fox and Rev. Mr. Montgomery with 
Laura Robinson, Samuel G. Curtis and Thomas At- 
kins as "charter members." The Methodist church 
on Liberty Prairie was organized shortly after by Sam- 
uel Dodge and L. D. Kelly. The former has long 
since gone to his reward, the latter is still in active 
life and engaged on his farm. The German Lutherans 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS— COTTAGE GROVE. 279 

organized since the other two; have a large and intel- 
ligent congregation, and a fine house of worship. 

The Evangelical Association is strongly represented 
in the town, though their church is situated just 
across the line, in Blooming Grove. They purpose 
at some early day building a new church in the town, 
where three-fourths of the membership reside. The 
church was first organized in 1853, in the house of C. 
F. UphofF, on section 19, and where services were held 
for a number of years, with Rev. Henry Roggats as 
pastor. They are now in a very prosperous condition. 

Schools are well attended and well provided for; 
the census of 1875, shows a population of 1,430 in- 
habitants, the foreign element being largely repre- 
sented. The village of Cottage Grove is located on 
section seven; it consists of the post office, one store 
of general merchandise, two blacksmith shops, one 
harness shop, one wagon maker, two churches, a school 
house and quite a cluster of dwelling houses. 

In 1841, General Dodge passed through the village 
and put up at the Beecher tavern. His military ca- 
reer was well known among the early settlers, and 
with none more so than Mr. and Mrs. Beecher, who 
resolved on setting a table worthy of their distin- 
guished guest. But the old general had endured too 
many privations, and too many homely fares to be 
disturbed in his usual method of dieting, and so re- 
galed himself with bread, potatoes and pork, leaving 
all the "fixings " untouched. His room had been 
prepared with extra care, and with an eye to modern 



280 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — COTTAGE GROVE. 

comfort and ease in the way of a good feather bed 
and pillows. But the general had pillowed his head 
on the soft side of a hard board many a time, and so 
asked the good lady, to her utter amazement, to sup- 
ply him with some comfort by the removal of the 
feather bed, and the substitution of one of straw, 
which with him w r as deemed a luxury. 

In old stage times, and before access by rail to 
Madison had been accomplished, Cottage Grove was 
one of the relay and resting places for the members of 
the legislature going to and returning from Madi- 
son, and many a pleasant reminiscence is associated 
with Cottage Grove and the many guests and mem- 
bers who made mine host Beecher's house their 
abode, but which our space forbids enumerating at 
present, further than to record one notable circum- 
stance. In 1841, a number of the early settlers agreed 
to have a social dance at Amos Beecher's tavern, and 
to show the extent and distance the guests came from, 
it is stated that H. W. Wales, Mr. Brown, G. H. 
Walker, were from Milwaukee; Mr. Hogan, from Wa- 
terloo; James Fran, from Fort Atkinson; Harris and 
Charles Lawrence, from Token Creek, and a large 
number from Madison. A noticeable event of the 
evening was, that Mrs. Davis, who weighed about 200 
pounds, and Mr. G. IT. Walker, who weighed about 
250 pounds, were the two leading dancers of the even- 
ing, displaying more ease and elegance of deportment 
in the mazes of the ball room than those with less 
corporeal incumbrance. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS COTTAGE GKOVE. 281 

Through the energy of our Good Templar Lodge, 
there is a pleasing feature throughout the township 
that there is not a place where ardent spirits are sold, 
nor has there been for a series of years, although this 
was not always the case. Whisky, as in all new coun- 
tries, used to be plenty, and highly prized, so much 
so, that at a town meeting the electors passed a " resolu- 
tion" that hereafter hogs should be restrained from 
running at large, but "whisky was to run free," and 
in those times it did run freely. There is a very fine 
Grange Hall in the town, No. 97, Patrons of Hus- 
bandry. 

No streams of water of any great volume are in the 
town,thoiigh Door and Koshkonong: creeks run through 
the town, but not of sufficient size for mill privileges. 
The township is under a high state of cultivation, and 
is extremely well located for markets. It is remark- 
ably healthy, having a pure atmosphere, good water 
and plenty, and no miasmatic swamps to create fevers 
and agues. There are no natural curiosities, such as 
caves or large mounds, although there are plenty of 
ancient indications. On section four, on the land of 
Albert Gaston, there were some ancient. Indian relics. 

Politically, Cottage Grove has not been behind the 
times in contributing her share of public men. She 
has given the state a governor, state senators and 
state legislators, and in the late civil war, Cottage 
Grove sent 105 men to the field; twenty-two of them 
left their bones on southern battle fields. Any per- 
son wishing to locate in this part of Wisconsin can- 



2S2 DANE COUNTY TOWNS COTTAGE GROVE. 

not do better. Here we have the best of society, the 
best of churches and school privileges, a good, healthy 
climate, good water, good markets, good soil, and just 
far enough from the capital city for a good, pleasant 
drive, accessible to three or four depots in thirty 
minutes drive. To the visitor the drive from Cottage 
Grove Corners to the city of Madison is truly lovely 
and enjoyable; for a greater part of the distance there 
is a full view of the city and the beautiful lakes Wau- 
besa, Monona and Mendota, with, their bays and 
streamlets, and the Catfish river, with its many wind- 
ings through natural meadows. The road leads for 
about two miles along the shore of Monona, where a 
lovely white sand beach affords facilities for good 
bathing or gathering of shell and pebbles. If a little 
touch of the hand of art was added to what nature has 
already done, it would cast Long Branch into the shade. 
To the seeker after pleasure and health, we would say, 
God has created few lovelier or more healthful spots 
than Dane county, and the town of Cottage Grove, 
for here will be found health and pleasures to overflow- 
ing. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — ALBION. 283 



ALBION. 

BY PKOF. A. R. CORNWALL. 

The town of Albion received its name at the sug- 
gestion of Isaac Brown, in honor of his former place 
of residence in the state of New York. Considerable 
discussion arose as to which name, Albion or Salem, 
should be given to the town, when some of the En 
glish settlers came in and battled for Albion, the name 
Caesar gave to their native island. Freeborn Sweet 
was the first settler. He came from Oneida count}', 
N. Y., in August, 1841. In September of the same 
year, Bjorn Anderson and Amnnd Anderson, from 
Norway, settled on section 2. The same fall, Samuel 
T. Stewart, of Massachusetts, settled on section 11. 

In September, 1812, Jesse Saunders and Duty J. 
Greene, from Alleghany county, N. Y., settled on sec- 
tion 22, on what has since been called Saunders Creek, 
where the village of Albion now stands. In June, 
1813, Solomon Head, Adin Burdick, James Weed, 
and Hiram Bently, settled in the same neighborhood. 
On the 22d of June, 1813, a " Seventh Day Baptist 
Church" was organized, Rev. O. P. Hull, first pastor. 
Among the early settlers in the northern part of the 
town were the Marsdens, Clarks, Halls, Busseys, Sla- 
ters, Humphreys, Rev. James Wileman, William 
Short, John Bullis, and several families of Norths. 



284 DANE COUNTY TOWNS ALBION. 

These settlers soon organized a Primitive Metho- 
dist Church, with Rev. Marsden as first minister. 
Jesse Saunders opened the first store; Duty J. Greene 
the first hotel. The first school was opened by 
voluntary contribution in 1844. The Seventh Day 
Baptist meeting house was built in 1861, while Rev. 
T. E. Babcock was pastor. In 1868, the Episcopal 
Methodists erected a beautiful house of worship two 
miles from the village of Albion. Since then, in the 
same neighborhood of the Episcopal church, the Prim- 
itive Methodists have' built a handsome brick church. 
This church is near a beautiful lake, and altogether 
this community has one of the pleasantest locations 
in southern Wisconsin. 

Albion Academy was founded in 1854. This in- 
stitution has become one of the foremost academies in 
the northwest. There are three large brick blocks 
situated in the center of a twelve acre park, which 
constitutes the centre of the village. The corporate 
property of the academy is valued at $75,000. The 
courses of instruction embrace a six years' course in 
Greek and Latin; four years' course in mathematics; 
an extensive course in metaphysics; natural science; 
Normal course — a regulai^ professorship in instru- 
mental music, vocal music, elocution, bookkeeping, 
penmanship, etc. A faculty of ten teachers constant- 
ly employed. Nothing wdiatever sectarian is con- 
nected with the school. There is an annual attend- 
ance reaching from 250 to 325. A large number of 
Scandinavian young people have been educated here. 



fcd 

O 

m 

\> 

a 

d 




DANE COUNTY TOWNS ALBION. 287 

They ave as a rule excellent scholars, and of indus- 
trious habits. Rev. T. R. Williams D.D., now of 
Alfred. University, was the first principal. He re- 
mained in the institution six years, from 1851 to 18G0. 
In 1856, he was joined by A. R. Cornwall, A.M., a 
graduate of Union College, as associate principal. 
Prof. Williams retired from the academy in 1860 ; since 
that time Prof. Cornwall has been at the head of the 
institution. The academy has a fine cabinet in nat- 
ural history. The three literary societies have each a 
fine hall. The recitation rooms are ample. The in- 
stitution receives no aid whatever, but relies entirely 
on a small tuition from each student. A laro-e num- 
ber of teachers are trained for the public schools, and 
some of the foremost teachers in the state have been 
educated here. Hon. C. R. Head, M.D., has been pres- 
ident of the trustees during the twenty-three years of 
its existence. He has contributed largely and been 
one of the foremost in building up the school. Jesse 
Saunders has been a trustee from the beginning, and 
one of the main supporters. 

Albion is one of the pleasantest villages in the 
northwest; healthy, and surrounded by a rich farm- 
ing country. No intoxicating liquors were ever sold 
in the town. Expenses of students are less than any 
where else in the country. For the education of 
young men and women, few places offer equal advan- 
tages. A summer school of natural history will be 
connected with the academy, managed by Prof. Thure 
Kumlien. 



2S8 DANE COUNTY TOWNS ALBION. 

Lakes. — On tlie borders of Koslikonong Prairie is 
a beautiful lake called Rice Lake, a mile and one-half 
in length and three-fourths of a mile wide. The town 
of Albion also borders on Koslikonong lake, which is 
nine miles in length and three to four miles in width. 
Rock river flows through the entire length of the lake, 
making its waters pure, and attracting to the lake im- 
mense quantities of migratory birds and of fishes. 
This is one of the most noted lakes for game in the 
northwest. Amateur hunters from London, Boston, 
New .York, St. Louis, Chicago and other cities, visit 
this lake annually. Gen. Sheridan has often tried his 
hand here, but rumor has it that he has better lnek 
in catching Indians with his "black charger," on the 
fly, than wild ducks and geese on the wing. 

A four thousand dollar steamer will be put on this 
lake by the first of June. The steamer is nearly com - 
pleted — is being constructed by Messrs. Burdick & 
Lanphere, for pleasure excursions on the lake and 
river. It will have a 65 foot keel, 12 foot beam, 
double deck and pilot house; first deck, 20x90 feet; 
second deck, 20x60 feet, and a cabin 12x24 feet. The 
boat will have a new 18-horse power engine, built 
especially for steamers, and will be capable of carry- 
ing from 250 to 300 persons. It will be as strong 
and perfectly safe in every respect as regular passen- 
ger steamers, and elegantly finished and furnished 
complete. Koslikonong lake is the paradise of the 
naturalist. On its bosom are wild ducks innumera- 
ble; also geese, cormorants, pelicans, swans, and all 
the varieties of smaller birds found in the north- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS ALBION. 2S9 

west are on its margin. It is claimed that one 
hundred tons of fish are taken from its waters in a 
single season. This lake is known all over the globe, 
chiefly through Prof. Kumlien, who has furnished 
specimens in natural history taken from it for a good 
many universities and museums, in the old world as 
well as in this country. The specimens in our normal 
schools are found here and prepared by him. 

Business. — E. L. Burdick has a large dry goods 
store, and keeps a large assortment of dry goods, gro- 
ceries, boots and shoes, hardware, drugs and medi- 
cines. Commercial agents call him one of their most 
reliable customers. Miller & Gibson have a wao-on 
and blacksmith shop, and do a large amount of work. 
Jesse Greene has a blacksmith shop, is a genial fellow 
and does good work. Burdick & Lanphere have a 
steam mill, and deal in bent^ lumber; are manufac- 
turers of wagons and sleighs. They also deal largely 
in picture frames. Collins & Spencer, dealers in 
pictures and picture frames, are doing a lively busi- 
ness. A. B. Campbell, harness maker, has a fine 
shop. He also has a shop at Middleton and one at 
Alden, Minn., and does a thriving business. A. R. 
Greene, general traveling salesman for the Fox Biver 
Manufacturing Co., Dayton, 111., for the states of 
"Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. G. B. Huntington 
is a well known dealer in improved stock. Albion is 
one of the best tobacco growino; towns in southern 
"Wisconsin. In building up the village, Jesse Saunders 
has done more, by way of selling lots at reasonable 
19 



290 DANE COUNTY TOWNS ALBION. 

prices, and erecting buildings, than any other one 
man. Dr. C. R. Head has been a prominent and suc- 
cessful physician for more than twenty-five years, and 
is well known throughout the state. The Burdick 
Brothers, builders, do a large amount of work. Vis- 
itors to Albion will find a nice home at the Bandall 
House, and can visit the lake at will. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PERRY. 291 



TERRY. 

BY GABRIEL BJORNSON, Esq. 

This town was named in honor of Commodore 
Perry, and is the southwest township in Dane county, 
adjoining Iowa county on the west, and Green county 
on the south. The soil in this town consists mostly 
of light openings, and partly of choice natural mead- 
ows, yielding the best kind of natural grasses for 
stock. It is abundantly supplied with good, clear 
water from beauciful sparkling springs, and several 
beautiful small streams, emptying into the Pecatonica 
river, having their sources from springs of water in 
the town. Its surface is what is usually termed un- 
dulating or rolling; but the soil (with the exception 
of a few stony ridges) is mostly of a good quality, 
and well adapted both for dairy and grain farms. 

The first settler was one John Brown, a native of 
Indiana, who in the spring of 1846 settled on section 
27. Soon after, John, Hobart and Anton Keller, 
three brothers, from Germany, came into the town 
and settled on sections 3 and 10. The next settlers 
were Shute Rudy and John Sears, from Kentucky; 
John Eastman, from Ohio, and S. H. Campbell, from 
Virginia, who, in the year 1847, settled in the south- 
ern part of the town. In the early part of the year 
1818, B. F. Denson, a native of North Carolina, set- 



292 DANE COUNTY TOWNS PEEET. 

tied on section 34. In the summer of the same year 
several Norwegian families moved in, of whom Lars 
llalvorson and T. Thompson settled on section 17; 
Hans Johnson, on section 20, and Ole O. Bakken, on 
section 1. The above named persons may properly 
be considered the pioneers of the town ; and of those, 
only Ole O. Bakken now remain, the rest having 
moved away. JST. W. Denson was the first white 
child born in the town, March 19, 1818, and a daugh- 
ter of John Eastman was born April 11th of the 
same year. 

This town has a serious drawback, on account of 
its long distance from railroad communicatio7i, being 
situated in the center, between several railroad sta- 
tions, none of which is nearer than twenty miles from 
its center; but there now seem to be strong hopes of 
a narrow guage railway at no very distant day, to 
be built through the village of Blanchardville (from 
Freeport, Illinois, to Lone Rock, Iowa county, Wis.). 
Blanchardville is a thriving village, located about 
three miles southwest from the southwest corner of 
the town, in the town of Blanchard, La Fayette county. 
There is also a village, named Moscow, located about 
two miles southwest from the southwest corner of 
the town of Perry. Both of these places have good 
grist mills and other conveniences usually found in 
villages — such as postoffice, churches, school houses, 
traders, mechanics, etc. The village of Moscow is 
located on the Blue Mounds' branch of the Pecaton- 
iea river, and the village of Blanchardville on the 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PERKY. 293 

Pecatonica river, where the Blue Mounds branch 
empties into it. 

The first church in the town was built in 1851, on 
sec. 8, and belonged to the Norwegian Lutheran de- 
nomination. The style and size of this church struc- 
ture exhibits in a striking degree the simplicity of 
pioneer life, and the modest pretensions of that day. 
It was built of logs, and its size only twenty feet square. 
It also served as a school house until the fall of 1852, 
when the first one was built in the town. This school 
house was of small dimensions, hastily constructed of 
rude logs, and located about a quarter of a mile east 
of where Daley's store now stands, on section 8. 

Town of Perry was at first joined to town of Prim- 
rose for township system of government, but in the 
winter of 1854 was organized as a separate town and 
had its own government. At the first town election, 
A. Sanderson, one of the early settlers, was elected 
chairman, and O. B. Daley, town clerk. To exhibit 
an instance as a remarkable contrast between early 
pioneer life and the present day, in relation to 
choosing officers, and to show that the offices sought 
the men, instead of the men the offices, in those good 
old times, may be mentioned the fact, that, at the first 
town election, O. B. Daley, Esq., was elected town 
clerk, justice of the peace, superintendent of schools 
and town treasurer. 

The nationalities settling in said town, since 1848, 
have been mostly Norwegians and Germans, and 
these are now the only remaining nationalities there- 



294 DANE COUNTY TOWNS PERRY. 

in; about three-fourths of the population of said 
town being Norwegian, and one-fourth German, the 
other nationalities having all moved away. 

The town, politically, is noted for its casting a large 
republican vote, the Norweigian portion of its citizens 
voting that ticket, while the Germans adhere to the 
democratic party with equal distinctiveness. 

The town, on account of its detached situation 
from the rest of the business world, had, during the 
first years of its existence, to suffer considerable in- 
convenience in relation to mail communications. The 
nearest postoffice was at Blue Mounds, where Ebene- 
zer Brigham was postmaster; and to relieve the in- 
habitants of Ferry and vicinity, somewhat, a sort of 
private mail communication was established by the 
citizens, by which they hired a person as mail carrier 
who each week, brought the mail matter from Blue 
Mounds postoffice, for all of those in the town of 
Perry and vicinity, who had joined in paying the ex- 
penses for this private mail establishment. On this 
occasion O. B. Daley, Esq., was selected postmaster, 
to distribute and receive the mail. This mail service 
was kept up until 1857, when a special mail route 
was established through the town, with the appoint- 
ment of A. Sanderson as postmaster. He served as 
postmaster until 1871, at which time a regular mail 
route,with a semi-weekly mail, was established through 
the town, and O. B. Daley, Esq., residing on section 
8, was appointed postmaster. On section 23 there 
was another postoffice established at Forward, with 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PEEEY. 295 

Christian Evenston as postmaster. He is also en- 
gaged in the sale of merchandise. 

The town has no village, but O. B. Daley, Esq., has 
established a trading and general business place on 
section 8, where he has kept a well furnished store 
since 1853. In close proximity to him is a commo- 
dious church of the Norwegian Lutheran denomina- 
tion, erected in 1860, together with the parsonage of 
the pastor. Rev. P. M. Brodahl was the first regular 
pastor of the church, and served as such from the 
summer of 1856 till the summer of 1868, when he re- 
turned to Norway. Rev. A. Jacobson is the present 
pastor, and has served since 1868. The church is in 
a flourishing condition, and its pastor is well liked, 
and faithfully attends to his pastoral duties. 

There is also near Daley's store a beautiful and 
commodious frame school house, which has the last 
few years taken the place of the old log school house, 
the first school house in the town. There is a wagon 
and blacksmith shop conducted by Errick Henderick- 
son and Ole E. Stam, while Dr. William McFarlane 
has settled in this town, and is engaged in the practice 
of his profession in the place of Dr. C. B. J. Hersch, 
who for a number of years was the settled physician 
in town, thus making the place conliguous to Daley's 
store a lively place as a hamlet. 

There are now three churches in the town, two be- 
longing to the Norwegian Lutheran denomination, 
and one German Catholic. There are five organized 
school districts, besides parts of districts adjoining 
other towns. 



206 DANE COUNTY TOWNS PEKRY. 

For the growth and progress of Perry much credit 
is due to A. Sanderson, the first chairman, and to O. 
B. Daley, the first clerk. They were both indefati- 
gable in encouraging the settlement and contributing 
largely to its growth and progress. To O. B. Daley, 
Esq., is mainly due the honor of getting the Norwe- 
gian Lutheran congregation effectively organized, and 
it may well be said, without exaggeration, that O. B 
Daley, Esq., is justly deserving of the universal re- 
spect and esteem in which he is held by the commu- 
nity of which he is the honored member. A. Sander- 
son is no longer in the land of the living, having laid 
down the struggles and warfare of life about four 
years since. Many others of the early settlers have 
also crossed the river of death. The present chair- 
man of the town is L. M. Anderson, Esq., who has 
served the town faithfully in that capacity since 1870. 
Mr. Anderson has well earned the confidence thus be- 
stowed, in sending him for so many successive terms 
to represent the town in the county board of super- 
visors, as public interests will be well taken care of, 
and never suffer in his hands. The town has once 
been represented in the legislature by Hon. OleTorg- 
erson, now a resident of Madison. 

Notwithstanding the inconvenience of long distance 
from markets, Perry has made rapid strides towards 
wealth and competency, and has now a population of 
about one thousand souls, made up mostly of thrifty 
tillers of the soil. Judging from facts, it may be safely 
predicted that the town will contribute its full share 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PEKRY. 297 

to the rapid increase of the population of old Dane; 
peopled as it is by Norwegian and German branches 
of the prolific Teutonic race. As an instance, it may 
be mentioned that one of the early settlers, Michael 
Gobel, who died about one year since, left surviving, 
thirteen healthy children, and several other instan- 
ces, nearly approaching this can be shown in this town. 
If we may thus be allowed to judge by analogy, we 
may safely claim that the town of Perry will, in the 
near future, possess a numerous population of Amer- 
ican born descendants of the Norwegian and German 
branches of the Teutonic race of men, proudly trac- 
ing their lineage from this great ancestral source. 
Thus are made up the historic streams, forever min- 
gling their waters with the great and mighty flood 
of the American Republic. 



298 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WESTPORT, ETC. 



WESTPOET AND TILLAGE OF WAUKAKEE. 

BY E. L. NOYES. 

The town of "Westport is situated northwest of the 
city of Madison, and adjoining the town of Madison 
on the north, or north side of lake Mendota (Fourth 
Lake), a part of the lake being within the limits of 
the town. The northern and western parts of the 
town are principally prairie, beautiful and undulating 
in hills, valleys and lowland, interspersed with groves 
of timber, or oak openings, while the southern part 
of the town is heavily timbered with oak, hickory 
and maple, and is familiarly known as the " Sugar- 
bush." The climate is notably healthy, and the soil 
rich and adapted to the luxuriant growth of all kinds 
of grain, green and lignuminous crops, as well as dairy 
purposes. 

In the fall of 1845, Louis Montandon, a French- 
man, and Edward Boyles, an Irishman, built a log 
cabin on section twenty, and during that winter en- 
gaged themselves in splitting rails. They endured 
great privation during the first year or two, and were 
necessitated to travel on foot about eighteen miles, 
through creeks and swamps, to get their corn and 
tlour gristed, and on many occasions were obliged to 
barricade the door of their cabin to keep out the 
wolves, who would surround them in the niij-ht on all 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WESTrOET, ETC. 299 

occasions when they were provided with a good sup- 
ply of pork and flour, making the night hideous with 
their howling and efforts to obtain an entrance. 

Lecta, Louis' wife, was a helpmate to him in many 
ways, and in none more so than when he was appoint- 
ed assessor; she did the business for him with a 
promptness and energy better suited to the sterner 
sex, and equally as well done. 

In 1846, a few American families of the names of 
Burdick, Tower, Bradbury and Rodgers came into the 
town, and afterwards a number of families from 
"Westport, Ireland (from which the town took its 
name), among whom were the O'Malleys. Collins, 
Fitzgibbon and Ruddy, also came about this time. 

For a number of years, there was some difficulty in 
getting access from Madison to the eastern portion of 
the township, in consequence of there being no 
bridges across the Catfish, but on the building of Far- 
well's grist mill and two bridges across the Yahara, 
immigi-ation started into the town, and in 1849 and 
1850 a large number of settlers from Kilkenny, and 
other parts of Ireland, purchased farms in the central 
and western part of the town, among whom were the 
late Hon. Mat. Roach, P. R. Tierney, J. # Welsh, AVm. 
and Lawrence O'Keefe, Martin Reed and a number 
of others, and the Irish element has remained strong 
and influential, some of its wealthiest farmers being 
of that nationality. The present population, like 
most western towns, is mixed with Irish, German, 
English, American, Scotch and Norwegian, and agri- 
culture is the principal pursuit. 



300 DANE COUNTY TOWNS WESTFOKT, ETC 



Early settlers tell of the exquisite beauty of the 
whole surroundings of Westport when they first set- 
tled in it, and it has never lost a single charm either 
in its native landscapes or what art and the hand of 
man has bestowed. Game, of all kinds, was abund- 
ant, and was consequently much resorted to by the 
Indians. In the spring the settlers were accustomed 
to turn their hogs out to run at large until fall, and 
when in need of fresh pork would proceed with guns 
and dogs in search of some fat pigs, shoot and carry 
home for use. When the weather became colder the 
hogs would return with their broods for winter quar- 
ters. 

There are some interesting mounds in the town, a 
few of which may be seen on the hospital grounds; 
the building; itself is built where a number of Indian 
graves and mounds stood, and visitors to the hospital 
and vicinity will find the drives full of interest and 
beauty, and will be still more so when the contem- 
plated carriage drive from Madison around the edge 
of the lake shall be completed. In former years the 
Indian wiffwams might be seen on and near the hos- 
pital grounds, where the Indians would be hunting 
muskrat or fishing. Before the United States govern- 
ment ordered their removal to Nebraska, they made 
annual visits to what was then called the Indian vil- 
lage, on section thirty-three, on the land now belong- 
ing to John D. Clute. On section twenty, on the 
farm of J. Fitzgibbon, there are a number of large 
mounds of an oblong, or oval shape, overlooking 
Fourth Lake, and also near the shore of the lake at a 



dane county towns — westpoet, etc. 301 

place known as the Black Woods, near Foxes' bluff, 
a name given to that locality from the frequency of 
these little animals to be found there. Near here the 
City of Four Lakes was first contemplated, and where 
some log cabins were built and cellars excavated in 
anticipation of that hope. One of the mounds on 
Fitzgibbon's farm was opened by some of the citi- 
zens, but nothing of interest found but some stone 
hammers or knives, and a few flint arrowheads. 

The first town meeting was held in the house of 
Michael O'Malley, in 1849, and the following offi- 
cers were elected: Supervisors — Michael O'Malley 
(Chairman), John Collins and Louis Montanda. 
Town Clerk — Thomas O'Malley (but who after- 
wards resigned, and Thomas R. Hill was appointed). 
Treasurer — Thomas Butts. SupH of Schools — 
I. P. Tower. Justices of the Peace — Amos Rodgers, 
Charles Clarkson, I. P. Tower and Azariah Fay. 
Constables — Martin O'Malley and Milo Wells. As- 
sessor — John Bradbury. Fence Viewers — Michael 
O'Malley, Lawrence Rodgers and Edward Boyles. 
Sealer of Weights — Thomas R. Hill. 

Mr. Thomas Shillinglaw was the first postmaster in 
the town, and his wife is known to have been the first 
lady justice of the peace in Wisconsin, having been 
appointed by the town board, subscribed to the oath 
of office and filed her bonds in pursuance of law. 

The present officers of the town are: Supervi- 
sors — James Hogan (Chairman), Michael Koldes, and 
Raynerd Helt. Treasurer — William Wilson. Clerk 



802 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — WESTPORT, ETC. 

Jacob Buhlman. Asssessor — George Schumacher. 
Dep. Sheriff — James Riley. Justice — I. P. Bacon. 

In the central part of the town is a large Catholic 
church, built in 1860, by the Rev. P. J. Lavans. It 
is now under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Father 
Miller, whose energy and christian character is doing 
a good and lasting work among his parishioners. He 
has, also, charge of the German Mission church, in 
Waunakee, on section 8, built in 1874. The best of 
harmony prevails among co-religionists, and in the 
hiring of teachers religious persuasion has not been 
deemed a qualification for obtaining a school. 

One of the state's hospitals for the insane is located 
within the town, on the north bank of Lake Mendota, 
and in plain view of Madison. The hospital is a large 
and beautiful stone building (the stone being obtained 
from quarries within the town), and is surrounded by 
a beautiful farm of between three and four hundred 
acres, the labor of cultivating being mostly performed 
by the patients, and a large share of the vegetables 
and fruits used in the building are raised on the farm. 
There is, also, a large dairy of cows kept for supply- 
ing the institution with milk. Mr. Thos. Hill, an 
early settler, at one time contracted to purchase eighty 
acres of land near where the present site of the hos- 
pital is, and to pay for the same in cord wood. He 
cut the wood and piled it, but before he was able to 
consummate the bargain, a prairie fire came along and 
burnt up all his labor and so disheartened him, that he 
resolved to make no further efforts to regain the land, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WESTPORT, ETC. 303 

which is now a portion of the beautiful grounds of the 
hospital. 

For years, Westport was the residence of Ex-Gover- 
nor Farwell, on a large farm on the margin of Fourth 
Lake, adjoining the hospital grounds, and part owned 
by them. The peninsular island now nsed by the in- 
stitution as a vegetable garden received its name as 
" Governor's " Island from the above fact. 

It is also the home of Miss Ella "Wheeler, whose 
poems are becoming known, from their sweet and 
tender heart strains, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

John Kershaw, an Englishman, was one of the no- 
tables in his day, and lived for a number of years in 
a shanty on section six. He was a man of remarka- 
ble memory and general information; indeed, was 
known as the walking cyclopedia of Westport. He 
knew the value of money just so far as it was capable 
of being used in acquiring books, which he read to 
know, and not only to possess. Kershaw's shanty 
was one of those places where to lie in bed was to 
command the entrance, and when blustering weather 
unlatched the door, John would lie still and give it a 
kick with his foot to again close it. It was an airy 
house, when any one contemplates its roof, which was 
shingled w T ith eighteen-inch oak shingles, that year af- 
ter year's exposure had brought into a semi-circular 
shape outward. John never lost his opportunities in 
acquiring knowledge, and it is said his astronomical 
culture was greatly heightened by the ethereal vision, 
seen through the telescopic shingles of his home. 



304 DANE TOUNTY TOWNS WESTPOKT, ETC. 

His name, however, is a pleasing recollection to the 
citizens of Westport, and few would receive a heartier 
welcome than old John Kershaw should he a^ain re- 
turn to Westport from his new home in the West. 

On Six-Mile Creek there is a good grist mill, built 
in 1860 by E. D. Churchill, who sold out to the late 
Mr. Win. Paekham, who, together with his two sons, 
Raymond and William, run it successfully for a num- 
. ber of years, when they sold out, in 1876, to the pres- 
ent owner, Mr. John Bowerman, and who purposes 
increasing his power and facilities by the aid of steam. 
A short distance further up the creek there was for- 
merlv a saw mill. 

The town is well supplied with quarries, and the 
Cream stone, or marble, used in the building of the 
government court house and post-office, in Madison, 
was obtained from the quarry on section 11, and which 
the United States government purchased for that pur- 
pose. The stone was exhibited and much admired at 
the Centennial, as were also some of the other products 
of the town. 

A branch of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 
passes through the town from northwest to southeast, 
with Mendota station, on the the hospital farm, and 
Waunakee, on sections five and eight, in the northwest. 

Waunakee is a pretty and thriving village, situated 
on a beautiful prairie, from which it is said to have 
derived its name. It was platted January 30, 1871, 
by George C. Fish and Louis Baker, and has now 
a population of two hundred, and a brisk trade is 
carried on in all kinds of agricultural produce, live 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS WESTPORT, ETC. 305 

stock, lumber, dry goods, clothing and general mer- 
chandise. The surrounding country is rich and pro- 
ductive, and well watered. 

Waunakee Business Directory.— Packham Bros., 
lumber, grain and live stock; Buhlman Bros., dry- 
goods, groceries, clothing, etc.; C. Hudson, drugs, 
groceries and general merchandise; L. P. Goodchap, 
boots, shoes, groceries and general merchandise; Tay- 
lor Bros., boots, shoes, groceries and general merchan- 
dise; E. L. Noyes, contractor and builder and dealer 
in village lots, &c. ; E. L. !Noyes, cheese factory; 
R. W. Towne, hotel keeper and meat market; I. P. 
Bacon, justice of the peace; P. R. Tierney, attorney 
at law; James Riley, deputy sheriff and dealer in farm 
machinery; C. Gusman, carpenter; A. J. Van Tassel, 
carpenter; A. Peih, saloon keeper; M. Schuluck, sal- 
oon keeper; J. Hilgert, saloon keeper; J. Howard, 
physician; J. Knipschild, shoemaker; T. R. Lutzow, 
shoemaker; E. J. Foster, station and express agent; 
J. T. Akers, blacksmith; Hilbert Bros., blacksmiths; 
Mrs. Foster, milliner. 
20 



o 



06 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — SPRINGDALE. 



SPKINGDALE. 

BY JAMES P. McPHERSON, EoQ. 

Springdale, town No. 6 north, of range No. 7 
east, lies fifteen to twenty-one miles southwest of the 
city of Madison, and is traversed by the Madison and 
Mineral Point, and the Madison and Wiota state roads, 
and the territorial road from the Badger Mills to Bine 
Mounds. 

There are in this township some remarkable re- 
mains of that ancient people, who are supposed to 
have inhabited this country prior to its occupancy by 
the Indian races; the most noteworthy of which are 
to be found on section fifteen. Here are three mounds 
about fifty feet apart, and extending east and west; 
they are uniform in size, being about six feet in 
height above the surface of the adjacent land, and 
circular at the base, where they are nearly forty feet 
in diameter. Commencing at the distance of fifty 
feet from the most eastern mound, and extending in 
an unvarying direction to the east, there is a long low 
ridge or bank of earth, one hundred feet in length; 
the height of this ridge above the surface of the ground 
on which it is situated is four feet, and measures six 
feet through the base, north and south. A line drawn 
due east and west would divide the three mounds and 
ridge exactly in the center. Being upon elevated land. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGDALE. 307 

the view from the site of these mounds would, were 
it not for the luxuriant young trees by which they are 
surrounded, be beautiful and commanding. In the 
summer of 1870 one of these mounds was partially 
explored by Mr. Charles H. Lewis, a resident of the 
town, when a well preserved human skeleton was un- 
earthed, together with a stone pipe of curious work- 
manship, two stone knives, some highly polished and 
perforated pieces of bone, and many stone imple- 
ments, the use of which is now unknown. 

These mounds and their contents are objects of great 
interest to the antiquarian, as they point to the stone 
age of Wisconsin, and tend to the elucidation of the 
great problem in regard to that extinct and mysteri- 
ous people, the Mound Builders of America. 

The town was settled in 1844 or 1845, the first set- 
tler being Mr. John Harlow, who built the first house 
within the limits of the town. That house is still 
standing 1 on the farm of Mr. Patrick Casey, on sec- 
tion one. 

In 1845, Messrs. Michael Jacket, Wyatt Perkins, 
Perry Munger, Thomas Bentley and others, settled in 
the northeast part of the town and commenced the 
improvement of their lands. Mr. Perkins built a dam 
and saw mill on a small branch of Sugar river. These 
were regarded by some of Mr. Perkins' neighbors, as 
hindrances rather than improvements, and led to liti- 
gation, which resulted in the removal of the dam and 
mill, and also Mr. Perkins, who sought a new location 
for his mechanical industry. 



308 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — SPRINGDALE. 

In 1846 Messrs. Thomas B. Miles, Axium Malone, 
Hawley Chi Ids, 1ST. H. Dryden, Thore T. Spaanem, 
Morgan L. Curtis, John S. Berge, Henry Boland, 
Martin Nash, Michael Johnson and others, moved in 
and occupied land in other parts of town. In 1850 
John Mitchell and James P. McPherson settled on 
section 24 and 25. 

The town was organized in 1848, the first election 
for town officers being held on the second Tuesday of 
April in that year. Twenty votes were cast, and 
twenty-one offices were filled, and the following named 
persons were elected, viz.: Chairman, Martin Nash; 
Supervisors, Wyatt Perkins and Thomas Bentley; 
Town Clerk, Robert N. Ashmore; Treasurer, Morgan 
L. Curtis; Collector, Axium Malone; Justices, Mar- 
tin Nash and Morgan L. Curtis; Commissioners of 
Highways, Thomas Bentley, N. H. Dryden, and Rob- 
ert N. Ashmore; School Commissioners, Hawley 
Childs, Thos. B. Miles and Wyatt Perkins; Assessors, 
Perry Munger and Thos. B. Miles; Fence Viewers, 
Michael Jacket and Hawley Childs; Constables, Axi- 
um Malone and John I. Berge; Sealer of Weights 
and Measures, Win, A. Dryden. 

Of the twenty-one officers then elected, there are 
four of them yet residents of the town, viz.: Messrs. 
N. II. Dryden, Thos. B. Miles, Michael Jacket and 
John I. Berge. 

It was determined that no town tax should be lev- 
ied, and that the officers should receive no pay foi 
their services for that year, but shortly after the elec- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPEINGDALE. 309 

tion, a special town meeting was quietly convened by 
the incumbents interested, and a small town tax, suf- 
ficient to satisfy the office-holders of those early days, 
was levied, and in due time collected. 

From 1848 to 1852, the population of the town was 
largely increased by immigration, and nearly all the 
land was then entered and occupied by settlers from 
the Eastern and Middle States, and from England, 
Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Norway, who have 
devoted their attention and labor to the cultivation of 
the soil. The natural facilities for manufactures of 
any description are but limited, and agriculture has 
therefore been the occupation of the people, and will 
likely remain so. 

The western branch of Sugar river runs through 
the west and southwest part of the town, and the vil- 
lage of Mount Vernon. This village was platted in 
1850-51, by Mr. George G. Britts, who then com- 
menced the improvement of the water-power and built 
a saw mill. In 1852, Dr. P. Byam obtained posses- 
sion of the village site and much of the adjacent land, 
enlarged the village plat, and built a small but well 
arranged grist mill, which has been of great conven- 
ience to the citizens. 

Near where the river enters the town, there is a 
place familiarly known as the Mormon Baptismal 
Pond, because at an early day several of the followers 
of Joe Smith, having come from the South after the 
government had ordered their removal to Utah, and 
settled in several places in the west, among oth- 



310 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — SPRINGDALE. 

ers here, where they were accustomed to preach and 
baptize converts. The excitement at these services 
is said to have been equal to any fair, and perhaps 
with but little difference, as Saint and Gentile, for 
miles around, met more for the hilarity incident to 
the occasion than for any great conversions that fol- 
lowed, although some of the preachers were powerful 
orators. It is said that during the baptismal rites the 
excitement would become so great that an occasional 
mistake would occur as some poor unfortunate dog 
was forced into the river by wicked Gentiles, and 
then seized by an excited Saint and devoutly immersed. 
These poor animals were afterwards known as Mor- 
mon proselytes, put out on probation. 

Religious discussions between the Mormons and 
others were of common occurrence, and three of their 
most eloquent preachers challenged a Mr Cameron, 
a Scotch layman, to a public discussion of their doc- 
trines in the school house. Though a busy time 
among the farmers, they nevertheless assembled ear- 
ly in the morning from far and near, to hear the 
combatants. The discussion continued the whole day, 
and though the layman had persuasive and subtile 
orators to contend with, he came out the victor, and 
not long afterwards, as well as by a number of inde- 
screet acts of a moral character, the Mormon cause 
began to wane, and finally to move out of the town. 

The town is divided into five whole and three joint 
school districts, with six school houses located in the 
town, two of which are stone and four are frame build- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGDALE. 311 

ings, all of which are in good condition. The citi- 
zens, at town and school district meetings, have always 
evinced the interest they feel in the existence and 
prosperity of our common schools, by providing lib- 
erally for their support. 

There are but two church edifices in the town, the 
Norwegian Lutheran, occupying an elevated position 
on the prairie ridge, in section 8, and the Baptist 
church, in Mount Yernon. A German Lutheran con- 
gregation meet for worship in the school house of 
school district No. 3, on section 25, and a German 
Methodist congregation meet at the houses of the 
members, in the same neighborhood. 

In 1859, Mr. George West opened a store on sec- . 
tion 11, near what is now the Clontarf postoffice. Pie 
continued in business about a year, and was succeeded 
by Messers. Peter Quigley, John C. Thompson, Thos. 
Managan, and Patrick Carr. Mr. Carr has continued 
in business there for about fourteen years, has a large 
stock of goods, suitable for the locality, and does an 
extensive and increasing trade with the citizens of 
Springdale, Verona and Cross Plains. 

The first postoffice in the town, Springdale, was es- 
tablished in 1850. Mr. Thos. B. Miles was appointed 
postmaster, and retained the office until December, 
1866, when he resigned. 

There are now three postoffices in the town, Spring- 
dale, on section 25, J. P. McPherson, postmaster; 
Mount Yernon, I. G. Brader, Sr., postmaster; and 
Clontarf, on section 12, P. Carr, postmaster. 



312 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPKINGDALE. 



MOUNT VERNON BY DK. W. J. DONALD. 

Tbii village, of about one hundred inhabitants, is situated on the 
middle branch of the Sugar river, nineteen miles southwest of 
Madison. The location is a pleasant one, the greater part being on 
the east bank of the river, while on the west side, some high rocks 
and hills add to the picturesqueness of the scenery. On one of these 
rocks grew an old pine tree that was an ancient landmark to the 
early settlers, and a noted object of interest to visitors because of its 
marked distinction from all surroundings. It was blown down by 
a wind-storm on the evening of January 1, 1876. 

The surrounding country, though rolling, is productive, and well 
adapted to the raising of stock and dairy puqioses, and inhabited 
by a thrifty class of farmers, mostly of German and Norwegian 
origin. 

The health of the place is excellent, with a remarkable exemption 
from epidemics, particularly scarlet fever, and cases of ague are rare. 

Two religious societies are here represented, Baptist and Method- 
ist. The Baptists have a good church edifice. The Methodists hold 
service in the school-house, a good stone building. 

The never- failing Sugar river affords two excellent water powers, 
with only one, as yet, improved. Its distance from Madison and 
other villages makes it a good point for business of all kinds ; not 
one, in truth, can be said to be overdone. Those in business here 
have been, in most every instance, successful, and have continued 
residents of the place for many years. Mr. John Jones, proprietor 
of the flouring mill, learned his business here, and afterward became 
partner, and again eight years ago, proprietor, while he now rents 
the mill to C. W. Korn. Mr. I. G. Brader, Sr., who keeps an 
excellent general store, has been in business, with a little exception, 
for the past eighteen years, and has held the office of postmaster 
continuously since 1856.* Mr. C. C. Allen furnishes a good hotel, 
and lately erected new T buildings for the better accommodation of 
the traveling public. 

Dr. William J. Donald, after a year's respite from business, is at 
his post again, as in the past eleven years. Mr. W. W. Abbot, 
blacksmith, and C. J. Lewis, builder and carpenter, have been re- 
sidents of the place for the past twenty-five years, and in active 
business. Among others doing business and general y prospering 
maybe mentioned: Foye and Kea, masons; W. W. Miner, boots 
and. shoes; M. F. Van Norman, live stock buyer; Andrew Peter- 
son, blacksmith; Erick Erickson, shoemaker; P. E. Call, saddler; 
F. A. Fix, hotel and saloon; George, Wade, butcher; C. H. Lewis, 
carpenter; A. C. Brader, clerk; I. G. and A. C. Brader were in the 
mercantile business until two years ago. I. G. Brader, Jr., re- 
moved to Iowa,, but has recently returned, and built himself a re- 
sidence, and expects to resume business soon. 

* Since the above was in type I. G. Brader, Sr., has sold to O. B. Daley, ol 
the town of Perry, and his son Herman will continue in charge of the biisi 
nee6 in Mount Vernon. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — SUN PRAIRIE. 313 



SUN PRAIRIE. 

BY DR. O.G.CROSSE. 

In pursuance of an act of the first, or Belmont, 
legislative assembly, which located the seat of govern- 
ment at Madison, Mr. Augustus A. Bird had been 
elected acting commissioner for the erection of suita- 
ble buildings for the accommodation of the assembly 
and other officers of the territorial government. On 
the 20th day of May, 183T, the acting commissioner, 
accompanied by his brother, Mr. C. II. Bird, and a 
company of forty-five men, started from Milwaukee 
for the town of Madison. At that time nearly all of 
Wisconsin westward from Milwaukee was an un- 
broken wilderness. One solitary settler at Summit, 
about twenty miles west of the lake, three at Water- 
town, on Rock river, one at Fort Atkinson, twenty 
miles down the river, and one at Janesville. These 
bold pioneers, with their wives and children, stood 
sentinels upon the outmost borders of civilization. 
With these exceptions, all was in the condition in 
which it left the fashioning hand of the Creator. 
Wild beasts roamed at will over its forests and prai- 
ries, and their dominion was disputed only by the 
scarcely less wild and savage Winnebagoes. On the 
fifth day of June, the company above mentioned, 
tired, foot-sore and depressed, plodded their weary 



314 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PKAIRIE. 

way through the wild scenery of this then unexplored 
wilderness. Xine days had elapsed since they started 
on their weary march, and they had been drenched 
with rains and oppressed with continuous cloudy and 
lowering weather — the sun had not once gladdened 
them with its beams since the clay on which they left 
Milwaukee. At length, as they emerged upon the 
borders of the beautiful prairie, about two miles east 
of where the village of Sun Prairie now stands, the 
sun shone forth in all its brightness, and illuminated 
the scene before them as with a halo of glory. The 
contrast which this beautiful vision presented to the 
g^oom with which they bad been surrounded w T as so 
great, that they greeted it with a shout, and almost 
involuntarily bivouacked upon its borders, christening 
the locality " Sun Prairie," which name they carved 
into the bark of an oak tree which stood near by: and 
for many years this tree bore upon its breast, in rude 
letters, the inscription " Sun Prairie." Hence origi- 
nated the name of the locality which is the subject 
of this sketch. The company above mentioned en- 
camped that night upon the spot, which some two 
years afterwards was selected by Mr. C. II. Bird for 
his future home, and upon which his residence now 
stands. In the year 1839, Mr. B. became the first 
white settler in the town of Sun Prairie, and dur- 
ing the first year of his residence his only neighbors 
consisted of a band of Winnebagoes, whose wigwams 
were upon the present site of the Baptist Church, 
and who hunted the game that abounded in the vicin- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PRAIRIE. 815 

it j. In 1840, Mr. Thomas Marks, and the next year 
Messrs. Benj. Knight, Charles Peasley, Horace Potter, 
W. Van Bergen, John Winsled, John Ostrander and 
Rev. Albert Slingerland, with their families, located at 
this point. Col. W. II. Angell and several others came 
within the next year or two, and thus was formed the 
little hamlet which for several years, and until invaded 
by the enemy of all sylvan beauty and quietude — the 
railroad — constituted one of the most lovely rural 
hamlets in the west. "While settlers were thus slowly 
arriving at the little village, others were locating in 
the surrounding country; at Pierceville, some four 
miles south, Messrs. Enoch and Bradford Churchill, 
Ira Balch, John Taylor, ~W. A. Pierce, Tisdale Pierce, 
Calvin Flower, Mark Haslett and John Phillips 
formed a little settlement in 1840; at the Bailey set- 
tlement, two miles southwest from the village, Sam- 
uel, Asahel and Charles Bailey and It. T. Cameron 
were the advance guard, and arrived in 1841; at other 
points within the present limits of the township of 
Sun Prairie, A. W. Dickinson, George Pine and Mr. 
Brockway located in the year 1842. At Northumber- 
land, in the town of Bristol, at Deanville and other 
points in the vicinity, little settlements were spring- 
ing into existence, and the country was beginning to 
assume importance as an agricultural district. 

That the pathway of these early pioneers was not 
always strewn with flowers will be readily believed. 
Their lot was no more exempt from toil, privation 
and hardship than is that of all who brave the perils 



310 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PRAIRIE. 

of frontier life. The following incident, selected 
from a large number of similar anecdotes, is men- 
tioned as illustrative of this: In the fall of 1837, C. 
H. Bird, Zenas Bird, Norman Pratt and Mr. Parker 
were sent to Milwaukee by their employer, the acting 
commissioner above mentioned, and having accom- 
plished the object of their mission, were on their re- 
turn journey. In the act of crossing Pock river 
their canoe capsized, and all their provisions and ac- 
coutrements were lost. During the remaining four 
days of their homeward journey, their only food con- 
sisted of oak apples — little excrescences caused by 
the sting of an insect upon the leaves of oak trees. 
But for the timely meeting with two brave fellows, 
sent from Madison, with food for their relief, they 
must have perished from fatigue and hunger. 

The township of Sun Prairie was organized in the 
year 1839, and included all that district which now 
constitutes the townships of York, Medina, Bristol 
and Sun Prairie. The first election, or town meeting, 
was held in the spring of 1840, at the house of Mr. 
C. H. Bird, and it was presided over by John Cat- 
lin, Esq., from the town of Madison, who had been 
deputed for that purpose. At that election nine votes 
were cast. 

In 1844, the township or precinct of Sun Prairie 
was subdivided by the organization of the towns of 
York and Bristol, from its northern half, and in 184S 
the town of Medina was organized, leaving a town- 
ship of the usual dimensions, six miles square. Its 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PKAIRIE. 317 

surface is slightly undulating and is of the quality 
usually known as " oak openings," interspersed with 
small projections or indentations from the neighbor- 
ing prairie. It is traversed from northwest to south- 
east by the Koshkonong creek, along which are occa- 
sional bottom-lands or natural meadows of jn'eat fer- 
tility. The original settlers were almost exclusively 
of New England origin, but in later years quite a 
number of Germans and a few Irish have found homes 
within its borders. Of the early settlers above enu- 
merated, nearly all remained as permanent residents, 
and founded homes for themselves and posterity such 
as are a recompense for the toils and privations which 
they endured as pioneers. A few only partook of the 
restless spirit which so often haunts the frontiersman, 
and moved farther on as civilization crowded upon 
their footsteps. A. W. Dickinson transferred his 
farm to John A. Peckham, who now resides upon it. 
Horace Potter sold out his farm, which is now owned 
by Pardee Peckham. Mr. Brockway was followed 
by Moses Yervalen, and he by Joshua Boyles, the 
present thrifty and enterprising owner. John Ostran- 
cler early transferred his home to the present town of 
Bristol and became one of the first settlers of the 
Northumberland neighborhood. The township, ex- 
clusive of the village, has at present a population of 
about sixteen hundred, who are devoted solely to ag- 
ricultural pursuits. The New England characteristics 
of its early settlers have always exerted a decided in- 
fluence upon the social, political, religious and busi- 



318 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PRAIRIE. 

ness character of the people, hence morality, conscien- 
tiousness and zeal have always been prominent char- 
acteristics and have resulted in the establishment of 
schools, church organizations and societies, especially 
distinguished by these attributes, and honest} 7 , integ- 
rity and strict economy in their business relations 
have resulted in abundant prosperity. 

The limits of this chapter preclude any biographi- 
cal sketches of individuals or even the briefest allu- 
sion to the part taken by the people of Sun Prairie in 
its local history or in its relations with other commu- 
nities. Most especially do we regret the want of 
space in which to rehearse their record in the war of 
the rebellion. It must suffice to say that in unity of 
sentiment, in support of the government, no people 
were more loyal, and in the practical bestowal of men 
and means to aid in that desperate struggle none did 
their duty more fully. 

Since the separation of the village from the town- 
ship by the incorporation of the former in 1S68, the 
citizens of the township have erected a neat and com- 
modious town-house, on section eighteen, in which is 
transacted the business of the town government. It 
is also the place of meeting of a large and flourishing 
Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, which em- 
braces a large proportion of the farmers of the town. 
The present board of supervisors consists of F. L. 
Warner, chairman, A. F. Persons and Robert Beecham. 

In the year 1859, a line of railroad having been 
projected from Milwaukee to the Baraboo valley, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — SUN PRAIRIE. 319 

had been completed as far as Watertown, and lo- 
cated and graded on a line about three miles south 
of the village of Sun Prairie. The denizens of this 
little hamlet, having for about twenty years enjoyed 
the quietude and seclusion consequent upon their 
great distance from any business centre, had appa- 
rently no aspirations for their village, nor even 
dreamed that it was possible to convert the Sab- 
bath stillness and sylvan beauties of their streets into 
a mart of busy trade — a market for the produce of 
an extensive and productive tract of country. The 
rapid progress in the construction of the railroad, 
however, and the certainty that if completed upon its 
projected route their little village would be forever 
cut off from any hope of future greatness, seemed at 
once to arouse them from their apparent lethargy to 
a sense of the necessity for action. Meetings were 
held, committees appointed and negotiations entered 
into with S. L. Rose, president of the railroad com- 
pany, S. S. Merrill, general manager, D. C. Jackson 
and other influential railroad men, with the object of 
securing a change in the location of the road so as to 
bring it to Sun Prairie. These men were soon won 
over to the support of the project, but the change of 
route could not be made without some special legisla- 
tion. A bill for this purpose was introduced into the 
senate at the next session of the legislature, but not- 
withstanding a strong effort in its favor by railroad 
officials and lobbyists from the village of Sun Prairie, 
it was bitterly opposed by antagonistic interests and 



320 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PKAIEIE. 

defeated. It is said that the then member of assem- 
bly from that district regretted the fate of the bill in. 
the senate, because he thereby missed an opportunity 
to deliver "a d — d spicy little speech," which he had 
prepared in its favor. Strategy, however, which more 
often than valor, wins victories, succeeded in procur- 
ing the necessary legislation under which the desired 
change could be made. A clause was introduced into 
a bill then pending, which provided that no valid in- 
junction could be served upon a railroad company to 
restrain them from doing any act unless thirty days 
previous notice had been served upon such company. 
The bill to which this provision was attached passed 
the legislature and became a law before those who were 
opposed to the desired change of route were aware 
that under it the change could be made. Thus pro- 
tected from restraint by injunction, the company hast- 
ened the laying of the track without unnecessary de- 
lay, in some places not even grading the road-bed, 
and in less than thirty days the route was changed, 
and the triumph of Sun Prairie secured. In No- 
vember, 1859, the railroad was completed to that 
point. Then followed a period of active business 
prosperity, and apparently a golden opportunity 
for building up, on a permanent basis, a town of con- 
siderable importance and magnitude. For ten years, 
Sun Prairie w r as the western terminus of the Milwau- 
kee and Baraboo Yalley Railroad, and was one of the 
largest and most flourishing inland grain markets in 
the state. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS - — SUN l'KAIRIE. 321 

That this period of business activity and great 
prosperity was not productive of more permanent re- 
sults as manifested in enlarged growth and increase 
of population and wealth may perhaps be partially 
explained by the fact that at about the time when the 
attention of capitalists and enterprising business men 
was being attracted to this point, the war of the re- 
bellion came with all its attendant horrors; enlist- 
ment and conscription were the order of the day ; the 
population was decimated and business of all kinds 
except that of supplying men and means for the army 
was depressed and languishing. As a market for the 
produce of the country Sun Prairie was in no wav 
injured by this trying ordeal, but its prospects of be- 
ing permanently benefited thereby were materially 
lessened. Capital became shy of investment in em- 
bryo cities, and enterprise was diverted into other 
channels than that of building up rural towns, be 
their prospects ever so inviting. In the meantime, 
and before it was possible to recover from these and 
other depressing influences, which the prescribed lim- 
its of this chapter preclude from mention, the rail- 
road had changed ownership, and been diverted from 
its originally determined route and made to converge 
toward and join the main line of the Milwaukee and 
Prairie du Ohien road at the city of Madison. This 
deprived Sun Prairie of its advantages as an inland 
railroad terminus, and made of it simply a way-sta- 
tion. Its inability to acquire strength, wealth and 

influence rendered it powerless to prevent the build - 
21 



322 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — SUN PRAIRIE. 



ing up of competing markets, and as a consequence it 
has been shorn of a portion of its former business 
prosperity. By an act of the legislature, passed in 
1868, the village of Sun Prairie was incorporated. 
Its government consists of a j)i*esident and three 
trustees, with such subordinate officers as are usual in 
a village municipality, all of whom are elected an- 
nually. The first president, Mr. W. H. Angell, held 
that office two terms, and his successors, Messrs. W. 
H. Chandler, C. R. Babcock, C. G. Crosse, John Gib- 
bons, Geo. Maloney and C. C. La Bore, one term each, in 
the order in which they are named - — C. G. Crosse be- 
ing the present incumbent. The present trustees are 
Messrs. Win. Small, H. Dirnfeldt and H. Daniels. 

The village is situated in the midst of one of the 
most productive agricultural districts in the state — 
about twelve miles northeast from the city of Madison 
and seventy miles west from Milwaukee — and is the 
natural outlet for the productions and the mart of 
trade for quite a large extent of country. There were 
shipped from this point, in the year 1876, about 
120,000 bushels of wheat, 30,000 bushels of barley, 
17,000 bushels of oats and other grain, 1,300 fat 
swine, 1,000 head of fat cattle, and other produce in 
proportion. There is at present a population of about 
eight hundred, much the largest number of whom are 
American born, and a large per cent, of whom are 
from New England. A few intelligent and liberal- 
minded Germans, and a lesser number of Irish, serve 
to enliven and jnve zest to the otherwise staid charac- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PRAIRIE. 323 

ter of the inhabitants. Many of the citizens are ag- 
riculturists from the surrounding country who have 
retired from their farms to enjoy the school, church 
and society privileges of the village. The mechanic 
arts are quite fully represented; numerous workers in 
metal and in wood ply their busy trades and earn lib- 
eral incomes by their skill as artisans. The profes- 
sion of the law has one representative, that of medi- 
cine four, and the clergy six. 

The mercantile history of the village dates from the 
year 1842, when one David C. Butterfield — a quaint 
genius, a sort of "connecting link" between the In- 
dian and Caucasian — became proprietor of a few dry 
goods, and commenced a traffic with the few white 
settlers and more numerous Indians. He was super- 
seded in 1844, by Edwin Brayton, who continued the 
business about one year, and sold out to Mr. Silas 
Smith, a Methodist preacher, who for several years 
eked out a precarious support from its profits. That 
the occupation of a merchant in those early years was 
not repaid with financial success, may be inferred 
from the facts that seventy miles of ill-conditioned 
roads intervened between it and any market for the 
jjroduce of the country; that no means of transporta- 
tion existed except by teams, and that the prices of 
grain in Milwaukee were often so low as scarcely to 
cover the cost of transportation. This preacher-mer- 
chant was of the muscular order of Christians, as well 
as an honest and upright business man, and when, as 
sometimes happened, a customer became rude and 



324 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PEAIEIE. 

boisterous in consequence of having indulged too 
freely in the then rather common beverage, whisky, 
the preacher's brawny arm soon " conquered a peace," 
and sent him on his way sobered by the lesson he had 
received. Frederick Starr was successor to Mr. Smith, 
and after a brief business career, he was followed by 
Thomas White. In 1859, Mr. White, having failed 
in business, was succeeded by Messrs. Williams & 
Maloney, who, by their enterprise and business habits, 
soon established a successful trade, of which Mr. Geo. 
Maloney is the present representative. The business 
of Mr. Maloney consists of one of the most extensive 
and successful dry goods and general merchandising 
establishments in the village. Mr. C. Ii. Babcock is 
proprietor of a flourishing business in dry goods, gro- 
ceries, etc. His stock is large and diversified, and his 
business is vigorously and efficiently conducted. He 
is the present representative of the firm of Babcock, 
Clark & Co., which in 1861 succeeded to the firm of 
Main & Marvin, which had been in existence but a 
brief period. Messrs. Gilman, Weigan & Moak are 
a new firm, which has recently opened up a fine stock 
of general merchandise. They are successors to the 
late firm of Chittenden & Woodward, which succeeded 
to that of Gilman & Curtis. This last named firm 
originated in 1870, and was the pioneer in the system 
of " ready pay." The present firm will steadily ad- 
here to this principle, and are deserving of patronage 
and encouragement in carrying out this necessary re- 
form in business. Mr. F. H. Hood is a young and 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PEAIEIE. 325 

enterprising dealer in groceries, ready-made clothing, 
etc. He keeps a full stock, is a courteous gentleman 
and a successful business man. He is successor to 
his father, Mr. II. Rood, who first established the 
business in 1862. Mr. Benjamin Franks, a dealer in 
ready-made clothing, notions, cigars, etc., has a well 
selected stock, and is doing a good business. He first 
established the business in 1860. Mr. Geo. "WTieelan, 
from a small beginning in 1862, has established a 
flourishing business in variety goods in connection 
with furniture and undertaking. Miss L. E. Stowe 
and Mrs. L. Bird, have each a full and tastefully 
selected stock of millinery goods, adapted to the wants 
of a wide range of customers. Mr. I. D. Hayden has 
a stock of stoves and tinware, which, in connection 
with his manufacturing and repairing shop, make a 
very successful establishment. Messrs. Bowen & 
Svvanton, and also, Mr. E. A. Weigan, dealers in grain 
and all kinds of farm produce, are each proprietors of 
a large and spacious grain elevator, and are doing a 
large and prosperous business. Col. W. H. Angell 
is the proprietor of an extensive lumber establish- 
ment, which for many years he has conducted in an 
eminently successful and business-like manner. J. D. 
Bird is also a lumber merchant, doing quite an ex- 
tensive business. John Hecker and J. G. Egbertson 
are severally engaged in the manufacture and sale of 
harness and other wearing apparel for horses. Mr. 
II. Dirnfeldt is proprietor of a well-kept and bounti- 
fully supplied meat market. 

The American House, originally built in 1850 by 



326 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN TKAIRIE. 

~W\ F. Ilardwick, is under the present proprietorship 
of Mr. J. E. Mann, and is the largest hotel in the 
village. The Sun Prairie House, erected by Mr. W. 
H. Angell in 1850, and for many years conducted by 
him, is now presided over by Mr. A. C. Miller, who 
is a genial and obliging landlord. Mr. N". Mosell is 
the gentlemanly proprietor of a large and commodi- 
ous hotel called the Germania House. 

The trade in drugs and medicines is conducted by 
Drs. Crosse and Lewis. The manufacture and sale of 
boots and shoes by G. W. Bull, C. A. Sawyer, W. E. 
Morehouse and E. Aschenburker. That of wagons 
and carriages b} T C. C. La Bore, J. C. Kanouse and 
Jacob Weicher; and blacksmithing, in all its branches, 
is carried on by John Ditmas, W. Small, J. Sweeney, 
George Kanouse and W. D. B. Pincheon. The trade 
in jewelry is represented by II. J. Bird. 

Of societies, there are six church organizations, and 
a lodge each of Masons, Odd Fellows, Good Temp- 
lars and Patrons of Husbandry. Preliminary steps 
have been taken and a liberal fund subscribed for 
the establishment of a free library and reading room, 
and undoubtedly this valuable institution will soon 
become an established feature in the village. A first 
class cornet band of musicians regales the lovers of 
music with its enlivening strains. 

Considerable taste and refinement are manifested 
by the citizens in the character of their private resi- 
dences, and much enterprise and liberality in their 
public buildings and improvements. A liberally sup- 
ported and well conducted graded school, with a tine 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SUN PRAIRIE. 327 

building beautifully located on an eminence in the 
western part of the village, attests the intelligence 
and liberality of the people. There are five church 
buildings — the Episcopal, Methodists, Baptists and 
Congregationalists have each a large, commodious 
and elegant house of worship, and the Catholics and 
German Methodists have each a comfortable but more 
unpretending building. 

The absence of those causes of disease which so 
constantly exist in the vicinity of towns located near 
watercourses, renders Sun Prairie almost entirely ex- 
empt from all diseases of malarial origin, while the 
purity of its water supply and of its atmosphere, the 
cleanliness of its streets and public places, and the 
wise supervision of its authorities, render the visits 
of those frightful epidemics which so often decimate 
the population of other localities, quite impossible. 

To men of enterprise and business, seeking a loca- 
tion for manufactories or trade away from the disad- 
vantages which are to be contended against in cities, 
Sun Prairie offers a peculiarly inviting prospect; and 
the country in the immediate vicinity, by its fertility, 
its facilities for market and the cheap prices of lands, 
offers rare inducements to farmers and others who de- 
sire to invest in productive real estate, and to all who 
are seeking pleasant, healthful homes, surrounded by 
a moral, intelligent and refined community, few places 
offer greater attractions. It is probable, therefore, that 
in the not distant future, a season of renewed prosperi- 
ty will open upon the village, and it will become one 
of the brightest little gems in the diadem of our state. 



328 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 



SPKINGFIELD. 



BY E. HARDING. 



The town of Springfield, or town 8, north of range 
8 east, is situated in the northwestern part of Dane 
county, about ten miles northwest of Madison. The 
dome of the capitol, and even parts of the city of 
Madison, are distinctly seen from several portions of 
the town. The lands of the town consist of oak 
openings and prairie; the surface, especially in the 
western part, is diversified with high bluffs. 

The only stream in the town rises in section 10, 
and flows east, and enters the town of Westport, into 
the six mile creek, thence into lake Mendota. Along 
this stream are marsh lands that have become valu- 
able by drainage, and on either side of these are 
woods and young timber, through which one of the 
old Indian trails passed, and in which Indians still occa- 
sionally camp. About the year 1850 or '51, the 
United States government sent west some five hun- 
dred Indians, and in passing through the town, they 
camped over Sunday on section 10. They were under 
the command or control of a government officer from 
Indiana, popularly called Cutall, a Frenchman, and 
whose name we are informed, was Couteau, in French, 
signifying a knife. But, be this as it may, he did not, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 329 

as his name indicates, cut them in pieces, as there was 
a numerous return of them the following summer. 

The town was once the scene of a bloody conflict, 
which, as far as can be learned, must have occurred 
between the Sac and Winnebago Indians, as they 
had many and desperate feuds before the early pio- 
neers came into this part of the country. Sec- 
tion 7, on the line between Springfield and Berry, 
gives evidence of what one of these contests was, as 
Mr. G. Hochstesin, for a number of years, desisted 
plowing his land, on account of the number of human 
bones on this section. There is also at this place one, 
and perhaps two, mounds or graves, where some of 
the slain were buried, and up to a recent date, stones 
were set, or piled up, to mark the place. Arrow heads, 
and other Indian relics are found on this battle-field, as 
also in other portions of the town. 

During the Black Hawk war, it is probable that 
Gen. Atkinson was chief in command, and that Zach. 
Taylor, then a colonel, was in command of a part of 
the regular troops. It appears from history that a 
good deal of skirmishing and fighting occurred all 
through the country from Prairie du Ghien to Port- 
age. The road known as the Military road, from 
Green Bay to Chicago, and west to Prairie du Chien, 
crosses the town of Springfield, and the army march- 
ing along this road, at one time encamped for the 
night on section 9. Jefferson Davis was then a 
lieutenant, and was with the army at the time above 
mentioned. 



330 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 

It is related that Gen. Taylor left Lieut. Davis at 
Prairie du Chien and went to Portage to look after 
affairs, and that while away, Davis married his daugh- 
ter on the sly — perhaps he has done worse things 
since. 

The town was first settled by Ilawley Simons 
and family, on section 10, in 1841. His house was 
the first built in the town. The following year Geo. 
Johnson and family settled on section 4. Mrs. Simons 
and Mrs. Johnson were sisters. Also, about the same 
time, Wm. B. Slaughter settled on section 35, and 
Win. Bullock on section 31. Mrs. Johnson and Mr. 
Bullock are still living in the town, while Mr. 
Slaughter is now living in Madison, the others being 
all dead. 

About this time the first post office in the town 
was established at Glark's Corners. Mr. Clark was 
postmaster, and once a week the mail was carried 
on horseback from Madison to Sauk. There are 
now four mails a week by stage between Madison 
and Sauk, and three post offices — Ashton, post- 
master, C. Dresen; Springfield Corners, postmaster, 
Louis Martini; Hyer's Corners, postmaster, D. R. 
Hyer. 

The first white child born in the town, was Eunice 
Johnson, who was born September 1, 1815. She 
married Mr. Robert Ford, and both are still (1877) 
living here. The first marriage was Mr. Geo. How- 
ard to Miss Sarah M. Murray, in 1811. 

The first physician was Dr. Winston. Since then 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — SPRINGFIELD. 331 

Drs. S. L. F. Ward and A. A. Rowley have lived and 
practiced medicine in the town. Rev. N". Martin of 
the Baptist church was the first minister and pastor. 
The first death was Mrs. Frances Gillett. 

Several families in England formed a colony and 
sent to this county three men by the names of Reeves, 
Wilson and Goss, as agents to locate lands; these 
men came into this town and located lands on sec- 
tions from 10 to 15 inclusive; and during the same 
year, 1816, Messrs. Hillier, Gillett, Bardsley, Tinker, 
Kay, Riley, Tymmes, Seston, Boyer and others ar- 
rived from England and settled here. Some of them 
took possession of the lands and houses provided for 
them, and others secured places for themselves. 
Most, if not all of the families forming these settle- 
ments were poor. The county was a wilderness, with- 
out any of the comforts of civilization, and proved very 
discouraging to these families who had come from 
thickly settled communities, and was epecially so to 
the women and children; but they nobly set their 
faces to overcome these difficulties. The Indians gave 
them some trouble and occasionally a good deal of 
fright, entering their homes and demanding some- 
thing to eat, and seldom leaving until their wants were 
well supplied, on which occasions they would eat 
enormously, and then lay down and sleep, often for a 
night and a day, and on getting up would give a 
" ugh " and start off. 

Bears and other wild beasts proved a great annoy- 
ance. The wolves would carry off their pigs, and 



332 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 

frequently attack the larger animals. Mr. Tinker 
relates that they would come at night in packs 
around his house, howling so terribly that they were 
unable to sleep, and he has often shot them from his 
windows. The territory paid him a bounty of five 
dollars for each one he killed. 

The first bread used by these families was made 
from Indian, or corn meal, which they prepared by 
rasping on a tin grater, and the first wheat flour 
used in the settlements was very tediously ground 
in coffee mills. Several of the families brought these 
coffee mills with them from England, and one would 
borrow of the other until all had ground their grist. 
They cleaned the wheat by spreading it on their rough 
table, and then hand-picking it. The first fanning mill 
was owned by J. Knipschild, at what was then called 
Clark's Corners (now Springfield Corners); after that 
the neighbors carried their grists to his place to be 
cleaned. The first flouring mill accessible to the people 
was Hicock's mill, in Iowa county, and as they went 
with oxen, it was a long and tedious journey. On one 
occasion, Mr. Bardsley relates that he was gone about 
two weeks. 

It is amusing, at this late day, to hear them tell of 
some of their experiences in wood chopping. Ihe 
idea of chopping down large trees whose bark seemed 
capable of resisting the strongest of axes, was some- 
thing entirely new to them, and on one occasion three 
of them traveled all day trying to find soft trees, 
but not finding any, returned at night wearied and 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 333 

disappointed with their day's toil. In one instance, 
a man built a staging of old logs around a tree and 
cut it off, leaving the stump four or five feet high; 
he did this for the reason that the tree was smaller at 
that distance from the ground. For years the stump, 
from its conspicuousness, was a wonder to many, as 
they could not comprehend why it was thus cut, until 
the above fact was learned. But as these men came 
from factories in England, it is not matter of won- 
der that they were not very expert backwoodsmen. 
Of those that came over in this colony, Geo. Gillett, 
"Win. Bardsley, H. Tinker and Mrs. Hillier are still 
living in the town. The others are either dead or 
removed to other places. 

The town of Springfield was organized in 1848. 
and the election of officers was held at the house of 
George Gillett, when about twenty votes were cast. 
There were also about twenty-seven children in the 
town between the ages of four and twenty. 

Officers elected: J. M. Babcock, (chairman), R. 
"Winston, D. Coda, Supervisors; B. Downing, Clerk. 
J. M. Babcock died before the close of the year, and 
P. S. Rider was elected chairman to fill the vacancy. 
At the election held April 3, 1877, 266 votes were 
cast (there are about 300 voters in the town), and 637 
children between four and twenty years. During the 
twenty -nine years that the town has been organized, 
nine different persons have served as chairmen. 
Wm. Bardsley has served nine years; R. Ford has 
served four years; N. Martin has served three years; 



334 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 

D. Ford lias served six years, and was reelected April 
3, 1877. Julius "Weisenbom (now of Black Earth), 
was elected town clerk three years consecutively. 
Thos. Binegal, three years consecutively; E. Harding, 
twelve years consecutively; B. Esser, three years con- 
secutively; J. Esser, three years consecutively. 

During the late war the town of Springfield fur- 
nished its entire quota of soldiers for the United 
States army. Among those entering the army, there 
were between fifty and sixty residents of the town. 
The following are the names of those who went from 
the town, so far as ascertained: Lieut. J. B. Hillier, 
M. Palmer, 1 Lieut. C. Northrop, 1 G. Bealer, 1 Sergt. J. 

E. Bardsley, C. Ford, Corp. J. W. Hillier, 2 St. Clair 
Z. Jones, Corp. M. Queenen, 2 A. K. Pierce, H. Young, 2 
Sergt. C. Pierce, "W". Young, 3 J. Jones, D. Young, 1 
Coval Jones, P. Ford, 3 J. Gunther, J. Ford, "Win. 
Jones, 1 P. Bonner, 4 J. Camm, "Wm. Gillett, — Faum- 
burg, P. Gillett, T. A. Perry, 1 S. Slack, Sergt. J. 
Dinsmore, "Wm. Klausman, D. Dinsmore, G. S. Mar- 
tin, G. S. Martin, Jr., 2 H. Martin, P. Lent, A. Goudy, 1 
A. Quest, Ferd. Pape, — Cameron, L. P. Flagler, 1 J. 
Halter, 1 Abram Ackerson, Anton Brandt, J. Stone, 
C. Howe, "Wm. Howard, — Kline, — "Wagner, J. Se 
brcight, "Wm. Marden, P. Shaffhausen, O. Hayes, 
— Lifermon, "W. Johnson, D. Perry. 1 

The Young family deserve especial mention. Mr. 
Young sent three sons to the army. Wesley was 
killed in battle, Daniel died in hospital, and Horton 

'Died. 5 Wounded. s Killed. 4 Drowned. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 335 

had both arms shot off, but recovering, returned home 
and is still living. 

Springfield raised during the years 1863-5, twenty- 
three thousand five hundred dollars tax for soldiers' 
bounty; this sum was considerably increased by pri- 
vate subscriptions, so that in all it probably amounted 
to near thirty thousand dollars. 

In the neighborhood known as Fordville, there is a 
library containing four hundred volumes. This libra- 
ry was first started in 1858, at a cost of about five 
hundred dollars; one hundred dollars of this amount 
was donated in money and books by persons outside 
of the neighborhood. The principal persons in or- 
ganizing this library were the Fords, Groves, Poyners 
and Mr. Leitch. The officers at present are: D. Ford, 
president; C. Poyner, secretary; C. R. Chipman, 
treasurer; A. Ford, librarian. The Library Associa- 
tion holds weekly meetings, and has had a valuable in- 
fluence in the community. 

Mr. David Ford has represented the 3d assembly 
district in the state legislature two terms. 

Mr. Bernard Esser was elected clerk of the circuit 
court in 1874, and reelected in 1876. 

The principal productions of the town for several 
years have been wheat, corn and oats ; but during the 
last few years more attention has been given to stock 
raising, and a more general plan of farming has been 
adopted. 

The soil compares favorably with the soil of any 
town in Dane county. 



336 DANE COUNTY TOWNS SL'EINGFIELD. 

Mr. Geo. Kingsley built a cheese factory on section 
12, and carries on its manufacture. 

The first market for the early settlers was Mil- 
waukee, and the usual conveyance ox teams. The 
price obtained for wheat was twenty-five cents, oats 
ten cents per bushel, and the time occupied in making 
a trip about two weeks, if they had good success. If 
they brought back freight for the merchants in Madi- 
son they did pretty well; but if not, they frequently 
came back in debt. The markets now are good. The 
center of the town is about four and a half miles 
from Middleton Station, on the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and St. Paul Railroad, and about six miles from Wau- 
nakee, on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. 
These are both good markets for produce of all kinds. 

By the increase of wealth and comfort, log houses 
have given place to good substantial frame, stone and 
brick structures; and in many places during the last 
few years, large and convenient barns have been built, 
showing that a large number of citizens have been 
successful in accumulating considerable property. 

School and church privileges are abundant, so that 
none need be ignorant for want of the one, nor wicked 
for the lack of the other. 

The first school house built in the town was a log 
building, on sec. 12, known as Johnson's school 
house. A good frame structure now stands in its 
stead. There are now eleven school and joint school 
districts, and nine school houses. There are also two 
German schools. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS SPRINGFIELD. 337 

There are three churches: St. Peter's, on sec. 7; 
St. Martin's, on sec. 27; Springfield M. E. Church, 
sec. 22. Pev. Mr. Hoyt preaches the first Sabbath in 
eacli month in the school house, on sec. 12. 

Ashton Lodge, No. 83, I. O. of G. T., has a good 
convenient hall on the Sauk road near the centre of 
the town. The lodge was instituted May 12, 1871, 
and meets regularly on Friday evening of each week. 

At ITyer's Corners is a good hotel, with D. P. Hyer 
as proprietor, who cheerfully attends to the wants of 
the traveling public. J. Stebbins keeps a store there, 
and is also engaged in wagon making, while C. Yosen 
has a blacksmith shop. 

At Springfield Corners, Louis Martini keeps a good 
store, and does a thriving business. EL Bohl has a 
blacksmith shop. Jacob Gross keeps a store on the 
road leading from Springfield Corners to Hyer's Cor- 
ners. F. La Fay has a smithey at Ashton P. O. 
and is a good workman. There are four saloons in 
the town: John Esser, on sec. 27; C. Dresen, Ashton 
P. O.; Michel Karls, on section 7; and John Michels, 
also on section 7. 
22 



33S DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGIITON. 



STOUGHTOK 

BY GEOKGE W. CURRIEIl. 

Origin and Growth. — In surveying a new coun- 
try, members of the surveying party are ever on the 
alert for mining lands, water privileges, and other 
natural properties which may at some future time 
tend to locate towns. It is said that daring the sur- 
vey of this territory some of the men, high in official 
position, made arrangements with the party to select 
some of the best water powers, and that, in this way 
and for this reason, Daniel "Webster obtained posses- 
sion of a large portion of the present site of Stough- 
ton. Mr. Luke Stonghton, one of the pioneers of 
Wisconsin, in his travels over the country, had long 
noted the water power here, and the advantages which 
this section offered for the location of a village. In 
1S47, he concluded a purchase from Daniel Webster 
of a large tract of land, including the site of the vil- 
lage. He immediately set to work to improve it, 
erecting a sawmill that is now occupied by Mr. 
Mandt, and a store upon the present site of Williams' 
Block. The village was soon laid out, and induce- 
ments were offered for people to settle. Mr. Alvin 
West was the first person who brought a family here. 
He built a residence where the Higbee House now 
stands, and by November, 1847, they were snugly en- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS STOUGHTON, 339 



sconced therein. Their house being opened to the 
public, the genial, hospitable manner of the host and 
hostess, together with the notableness of the latter as 
housekeeper, soon made it a favorite with the travel- 
ing public. The winter of 1847 passed away, and the 
spring opened hopefully. As early as was practicable, 
other houses clustered around the nucleus formed the 
A T ear before. During this summer, Mr. Colten and 
Mr. "Westcott put up the brick building that still 
stands by the upper bridge, and soon after purchased 
a residence not far from it. This residence is associ- 
ated, in the minds of the first settlers, with many 
social gatherings; the inspiration of such occasions 
usually being a violin — the pioneers' inseparable 
friend. In 1850, Mr. Stoughton put up a small 
gristmill to supply the needs of the people, and after- 
wards built a larger one. About this time a school 
house was erected, and Miss Fannie Duncan, who had 
already opened a school in a small building on the 
east side of the river, moved into the new building 
when completed. Another public house was opened 
by Mr. H. ITolley (the building having been erected 
by Mr. C. Roby), under whose genial proprietorship 
it figured as the Crockett House. It afterwards took 
on the more euphonious name of Yahara Hotel, thus 
rescuing the Indian name of the river, near whose 
bank it stood, from oblivion. The prospect of a rail- 
road at this time (which was completed to this point 
in 1856) gave an impetus to the growth of the little 
village. Men of capital and business talent were at- 



340 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGHTON. 

tracted to the place, who, by their energy and enter- 
prise, materially added to the building up of the 
town. Mr. West finding his accommodations for the 
public too limited, in 1853, commenced and completed 
a commodious brick hotel. In 1855, Dr. W. "W. 
Blackmail and Mr. J. R. Boyce erected a brick build- 
ing, from whence they dispensed drugs for many 
years. The doctor practiced medicine for a long 
time, and was accounted very skillful. Both of these 
gentlemen built fine residences, which are still orna- 
ments to the village. In the midst of this high tide 
of progress, a disaster befell the little village which 
materially injured its prosperity. The new gristmill 
which Mr. S. had just completed was undermined by 
water-rats and fell — a complete wreck. Mr. S., be- 
ing in feeble health, felt unequal to the task of re- 
building; consequently he sold the mill site to Mr. 
Bay Jenkins, who immediately commenced the work 
of reconstruction. 

From that time until the present, the growth of 
the village has been so rapid that our space forbids us 
to mention only a few of the more notable features. 
The Opera House, built by Mr. Nelson "Williams, is a 
fine structure and an ornament to the town. It con- 
tains one of the best halls in this section. In 1876, 
Mr. O. M. Turner fenced and cleared a beautiful park 
east of the depot, and built a fine race course. Many 
of the oldest settlers of this section still live in and 
around the village. Messrs. Nelson and Isham still 
live in the town, Mr. Utter in Rutland, and Mr. 




OrEKA House, Stougiiton. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGHTON. 343 

Emerson in the village The future prospects for 
the village are good, and more building is being done 
this year than for some time previous. A grain ele- 
vator and tobacco warehouse are to be built this spring. 

Scenery. — Stoughton is often called a New Eng- 
land village, and in many respects it resembles one. 
Situated on high rolling ground, in the bend of the 
Catfish, or Yahara river, it truly has a beautiful site. 
The country around combines some of the natural 
beauty of New England, with the fine prairies of 
Southern Wisconsin. 

First, or Kegonsa Lake, is situated north of the 
village, and is a popular resort in warm weather. It 
is one of the prettiest sheets of water in the state. 
"Beautiful maple and oak groves line the banks, and 
the waters abound in finny inhabitants. A large 
steamer is now in proceess of building in Pittsburg, 
Pa., and will be put upon the lake this season. The 
owner is Mr. J. I. Williams, a wealthy citizen of that 
place, who owns a fine farm by the lake. Summer 
travelers will find here plenty of outdoor amusements, 
a healthful climate, good accommodations and cheap 
rates. 

Exports and Imports. — Stoughton is surrounded 
by a fine farming country, and the exports from here 
consist of ordinary farm produce, grain, stock, hay, 
potatoes, tobacco, and articles manufactured here. 
Besides the common articles imported into western 
towns, Messrs. Melaas, Steenerson & Co. have estab- 
lished here an agency for the famous Lofoten Cod 



3J4 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGHTON. 

Liver Oil. They import direct from Norway large 
quantities of this medicine, and ship it to all parts of 
the United States. It has a reputation unexcelled by 
any oil of this kind in the world, and on account of 
its freshness, purity and comparatively pleasant taste, 
many physicians will use no other. 

Manufactures. — At the head of the list of manu- 
facturers must be placed Mr. T. Gr. Mandt. About 
twelve years a^o, he commenced work here on an 
anvil. By constant perseverance and unflagging en- 
ergy he is now proprietor of an extensive factory em- 
ploying about eighty men, and furnished with all the 
modern machinery for building carriages and farm 
wagons, cutters and heavy sleighs of every descrip- 
tion. Messrs. Norris & Beattie are the present own- 
ers of the mill property, and annually manufacture 
large quantities of flour for eastern markets. There 
are two cigar factories, the more extensive run by Mr. 
J. S. Hutson, and the other by Mr. J. W. P. Lusk. 
Messrs. Matthews and Ivlinsr manufacture thousands 
of brooms yearly, which they ship to the northern 
part of the state. Mr. Knute Olson supplies this sec- 
tion with harnesses, and has sent several shipments to 
Norway. In addition, we may say that this village 
offers many inducements to manufacturers. There is 
yet a large amount of water power not utilized; the 
location is good; labor cheap, and opportunities for 
transportation excellent. 

Newspapers. — The first paper published in Stough- 
ton was the Independent, by Henry J. Walker, and 



BUSINESS INTERESTS OF STOUGHTON. 



The Village of Stoughton is the second commercial 
mart in the county, and as an index to the general busi- 
ness interests, we publish the following list showing the 
leading merchants and business men of the place: 

Stoughton State Bank, <). M. Turner, Ties., Frank Lelancl, Vice 
Pres. ; A. L. Hollo, Physician and Surgeon; L. K. Luse, Attorney- 
at-Law; T. W. Evans, Physician and Surgeon; L. D. Clark, Hom- 
eopathic Physician and Surgeon; Dr. A. P. Lusk, Dentist; D. D. 
Camp, Jeweler; Amos Flyte, Wagons and Carriages; Mrs. J. M. 
Hibbard, Millinery; H. W. Hole, Dry Goods; H. J. Rhodes, Bar- 
ber; Sarbacker & Hurd, Harness Makers; T. A. Thprenson, Barber; 
Rothe & Gunderson, Hardware; O. X. Falks, Druggist; S. H. Sev- 
erson & Co., Lumber; O. O. Melaas, Druggist; K.Olson A: Co., Har- 
ness Makers; Mrs. Cid. C. Isham, Ladies' Furnishing Goods; A. T. 
Higbee, Hotel Keeper and Livery; T. G. Mandt, Wagons and Car- 
riages; Johnson & Melaas, Clothing; Norris & Beattie, Stoughton 
Mill ; Hans H. Swan, Boots and Shoes ; John Brickson, Grocer ; N. 
Jensen, Boots and Shoes; Currier & Parish, Stoughton "Courier;" 
W. H. Dumond, Restaurant ; W. D. Potter, General Merchandise; 
Hibbard & Camp, Variety Store; Win. H. Leedle, Clerk of Grange 
Store; J. D. Baker, Express Agent; Osman Halvorsen, Saloon; N. 
Swager, Tinsmith; W. A: Ferman, Photographer; S. A. Stenerson, 
Clerk; N. Anderson, General Merchandise; A. Nelson, Clerk; K. 
Olson, Tailor; A. E. McMannus, Confectionery; G. W. Wood & 
Co., General Merchandise; O. Peterson, Bakery; C. Larson, Wagon 
and Plow Factory; J. H. Laughlin, Telegraph Operator; J. Erick- 
son, Wagons and Carriages; Guilder Anderson, Saloon; F. Frank- 
ton, ; P. Peterson, Cutter; Matthews & Kling, Broom Makers; 

E. E. Warner, Carpenter; N. C. Nelson, Hotel; O. F. Tipple, Liv- 
ery; W. H. Miller, ; T. Carlsen, Tobacco Dealer; Ella Brown, 

Hotel Keeper. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGUTON. 347 

was started early in the summer of 1857. lie con- 
tinued the publication until the fall of the same year, 
when he sold to W. A. Giles, who changed the name 
to the Wisconsin Signal, and run it until the spring 
of 1859, when he removed the press and printing ma- 
terial to Prairie du Chien. The same summer L. W. 
Powell, who was publishing a paper at Brodhead, 
moved his office to Stoughton and commenced issuing 
the Stoughton Reporter. In 1863, I. A. Hoxie, now 
of Evansville, entered into .partnership with Mr. 
Powell, but only continued six months. Soon after 
Mr. Frank Allen bought a half interest. For over 
ten years the name was not changed. Mr. Allen, Mr. 
C. D. Wells, and finally Mr. A. C. Croft, owned the 
office and published the paper. Mr. Croft sold the 
press and material in 1874, and Mr. Frank Allen 
bought new stock and commenced printing the Sig- 
nal. Early in 1876, Geo. W. Currier purchased half 
of the office and changed the name to the Stoughton 
Courier, which was published by Kling & Currier 
until May, 1877, when Mr. C. E. Parish purchased 
the interest of Mr. Kling. 

Dunkirk Township, of which Stoughton is situated 
in the northwest corner, is in the southeastern part of 
the county, and known as township 5 north, of range 
11 east. It is one of the original towns in the organ- 
ization of the county in 1816. The first settler was 
John Nelson, a Norwegian, in 1843, and afterwards 
came John Wheeler, — Jaymes, Jesse Utter, Chan- 
cey Isham, S. H. Roys, Richard Palmer, Campbell 



348 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGHTON. 

and "William Saunders, John Estes, Levi Farnliam, 
Joseph Vroman, Joseph Cannon, and John Blake. 
The first town meeting was held at the house of Mr. 
Lyons, and Abner Barlow was elected first supervisor. 

The Yahara, or Catfish, enters the town on section 
4, in the north, and makes a circuitous bend through 
eleven sections, in a south and southeasterly direction, 
leaving the town on section 35 and passing into the 
towns of Fulton and Porter, in Rock county, then 
into Rock river. Its bank exhibits many beautiful 
landscapes, and affords excellent opportunities for 
hunting and fishing, while it furnishes very superior 
waterpower, some of which is yet unused. 

The land is very rich and productive, consisting of 
oak openings, prairie and marsh — the marsh land be- 
ing near the Catfish, in the northern part of the town. 

The village of Dunkirk, three miles from Stough- 
ton, is a small place on the edge of the Catfish, on 
section 21, and has a grist mill and blacksmith shop. 
In 1837, Alex. F. Pratt, now of Waukesha, in com- 
pany with Augustus Story, started for the mining re- 
gions, and passing from "Waukesha (then Prairie vil- 
lage), to Fort Atkinson, and thence to the Catfish, en- 
camped on the present site of the village, where they 
were so beset with wolves till morning, that they were 
necessitated to keep their fire replenished with wood 
to prevent their being attacked, as they were both 
numerous and savage, and kept close watch of them. 

There is a large Norwegian settlement in the north- 
ern part of the town. 

Chttkciies. — In so limited space, we are unable to 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGHTON. 349 

give much of the history of the seven churches now 
standing in this place. For several years, meetings 
were held in the old school-house. Father Sewell, as 
he was familiarly called, who then resided in the town 
of Porter, came very often, and ministers of other de- 
nominations assisted him in filling the pulpit. After 
the schoolhouse became unfit for use, meetings were 
held in a hall over Mr. J. R. Boyce's drug store; and 
sometimes, when the key was missing, good Mrs. 
Sewell heard the children recite their scripture les- 
sons on the stairs. In 1858 the Universalist church 
was erected, and dedicated the summer following. 
The Baptist church was built next in 1861. The de- 
dicatory sermon was preached by Rev. E. J. Good- 
speed, then of Janesville. The Congregational church 
was built in 1863, and dedicated on the last day of that 
year; sermon by the Rev. M. P. Kinney of Janes- 
ville. The Methodist chureh, in 1867; sermon by Rev. 
Col. Fallows. The first Norwegian Lutheran church 
was built in 1S67, Rev. M. Falch Gjertsen, pastor, 
and the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Christ 
Church, in 1S75, Rev. C. M. Hvistendahl, pastor; and 
the Catholic church in 1868. Since the death of Father 
Sewell, who, during his life and long residence in 
Stoughton, did noble work for Christ and his religion 
and for the advancement of all good causes, the Con- 
gregational church has been without a regular pastor. 
Rev. Mr. Hendricks was the last pastor of the Baptist 
church. Rev. Mr. Garfield of Jefferson, fills the Uni- 
versalist pulpit ; Rev. C. E. Goldthorpe, the Methodist; 
Rev. M . F. Gjertsen, the Lutheran ; Rev. C. M. Hvis- 



350 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — STOUGUTON. 

tendahl, the Lutheran Christ. Services in the Catholic 
church are conducted by Father Butler, of Edgerton. 

Hotels. — There are several hotels. The Iligbee 
House, kept by A. T. Iligbee, is really a first class 
house; and boarders and transient guests receive good 
attention. The National is run and patronized largely 
by Scandinavians. 

Schools. — From the little old school-house on the 
west side of the river, as a beginning, there now is a 
fine three-story brick building, standing on an emi- 
nence east of the river, and commanding one of the 
finest views to be found in this section. This building 
was formally opened in December, 1862, with prayer 
by Rev. R. Sewell; an address by the state superin- 
tendent, Hon. J. L. Pickard, and remarks by countv 
superintendent Barlow and others, interspersed with 
band music and choir singing. This being found 
inadequate to meet the demands of the fast increasing 
population, a new building, even larger than the pres- 
ent one, is now in process of erection on the same 
grounds. When finished, the two buildings will ac- 
commodate five hundred students. A free high school 
has been established under the state law of 18 75. The 
teachers now in charge of the several departments are 
as follows: George W. Currier, principal of High 
School; Manila Douglass, teacher, Grammar Depart- 
ment; Mary E. Tedder, teacher, Intermediate De- 
partment; Annie Wyman, teacher, Primary Depart- 
ment. The following named gentlemen constitute 
the very efficient school board: W. D. Potter, clerk; 
M. Johnson, treasurer; Dr. L. D. Clark, director. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CHRISTIANA. 351 



CHRISTIANA. 

BY CHAS. N. BROWN AND OTHERS. 

Tins town is the second from the southern, and im- 
mediately upon the eastern boundary of the county, 
occupying - the whole of township 6 north, range 12 
east. It was named, we believe, at the suggestion of 
the early Norwegian settlers, in honor of the capital 
of their native country, and was set off from Albion, 
which bounds it on the south, and organized as a sep- 
arate town, May 6, 1S47. 

The town was at first attached to the town of 
Albion for township system of government, and it was 
organized as a separate town, and elected its own town 
officers, only a short time before Wisconsin became a 
state. The first annual town election held after Wis- 
consin had entered into the family of states, was in 
the spring of 1819, and the town board then elected 
were: Randolph Brown as chairman, with Nathan G. 
Van Horn and Daniel Davidson as assistant super- 
visors, and Gabriel Bjornson as town clerk. The 
town has, since the above time, furnished four mem- 
bers for the legislature, and two county officers, as 
follows: Gabriel Bjornson was elected member of as- 
sembly in the year 1850; Daniel B. Crandall was 
next elected member of assembly in the year 1857; 
William D. Potter was elected member of assembly 



352 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CHRISTIANA. 

in 18G5, and Jolm E. Johnson in the year 1868. Ga- 
briel Bjornson was next elected clerk of the county 
board of supervisors in the year 1852, and reelected 
in 1S51. And Charles Cornelinson was elected regis- 
ter of deeds in the year 1856. Of the above named 
persons only John E. Johnson is now residing here; 
Randolph Brown, Charles Cornelinson and Daniel B. 
Crandall being dead. Daniel Davidson is residing 
somewhere in California; William D. Potter residing 
in Stoughton, in this county, and Gabriel Bjornson 
now a resident of Madison. The residence of Nathan 
G. Van Horn is unknown. 

Of the early settlers at Utica, S. ~W\ Coon and W-. 
H. H. Coon are yet residing there, both of whom, in 
their honorable old age, enjoy the confidence and re- 
spect of the community of which they are members. 

There are in this town three small villages, the 
largest of which is Cambridge, situated in the north- 
eastern part upon Koshkonong creek, and described 
in the next chapter. Clinton, the next in size, is sit- 
uated upon the same stream, in the eastern part, and 
Utica, the smallest, which, in fact, is so small that it 
hardly lays claim to the title of village, and is upon 
no stream at all, lies in the western part. The popu- 
lation of the town in 1875, was nearly 1,700, the larger 
proportion of which are foreigners, of whom nearly 
all are Norwegians. 

The surface, which is gently undulating, is diversi- 
fied with prairie and oak-openings, and to the eye of 
a farmer, this is one of the most beautiful towns in 



BANE COUNTY TOWNS — CHRISTIANA. 353 

the county. These oak openings were so named from 
the fact that the annual burning over of the county 
by Indian tribes kept the timber so entirely free from 
underbrush, that a team could be easily driven through 
it in any direction; it was this openness, contrasted 
with the denseness of forests of other states, that sug- 
gested the name "openings." As soon, however, as 
the annual fires ceased, and the original timber was 
cut off, there sprang up the dense second-growth 
which is familiar to all, and which is now, though we 
think improperly, called oak-openings. 

Koshkonong prairie is nearly all included within 
its boundaries, lying in the southern, central, and 
western portions of it. The surface of this prairie is 
moderately rolling, and its soil, for fertility, is un- 
surpassed by any in the state, almost incredible sto- 
ries being told of the yields of wheat upon it, before 
the success of that crop was sadly interfered with by 
the chinch bug. This prairie is named after Koshko- 
nong lake, which touches the extreme southeastern 
corner of the county, the banks of which were favor- 
ite hunting and camping grounds of the Sacs and 
Foxes, as the remains of their cornfields, still faintly 
visible, testify, and its name, in the Indian tongue, is 
said to signify, " The lake we live on." 

Koshkonong creek is the most important stream, 
and enters the town somewhat south of the north- 
eastern corner, flows through the eastern tier of sec- 
tions, and leaves it very near the southeastern cor- 
ner. As this stream is quite rapid, it affords first 
23 



354 DANE COUNTY TOWNS CHRISTIANA. 

class facilities for milling purposes, tliere being two 
grist mills in the town, one at Cambridge and an- 
other at Clinton, the latter having one of the finest 
water powers in this part of the state, and doing a 
large custom and flouring business. 

The other streams are Mud creek in the north, and 
Saunders' creek in the south, but they are of little 
importance. Along the banks of these streams the 
surface is more broken and less favorable for agri- 
cultural purposes, and in some places there are large 
marshes, some of which, in the days of the first set- 
tlers, were so wet as to be nearly valueless, but which 
are now dry enough to furnish pasturage or excellent 
hay. 

Previous to its settlement, this was a favorite hunt- 
ing ground with the settlers in adjoining towns. Deer 
were then very plenty, and one of the favorite methods 
of hunting them in winter, was to get what was called 
a "drive" on them. Taking advantage of their curi- 
osity, and knowing they could be easily approached 
with a team, several men in a sleigh followed their 
trail until within rifle shot, when the team was turned 
and driven around the deer, the men jumping out be- 
hind trees at convenient intervals. As soon as they 
were well surrounded the firing commenced, and the 
deer were driven from one side of the circle to the 
other, a large number frequently being killed before 
the herd succeeded in making its escape. This was 
also a favorite hunting ground of the Indians, but the 
trail which connected Koshkonong and First lakes, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CHRISTIANA. 355 



only slight traces of which are now to be found, is 
about the only trace of their occupancy which they 
have left. This trail entered the limits of the town 
near the southeastern corner, ran a little to the south 
of the Lutheran church, crossed the farms of Thos. 
Carpenter, Nils Torgerson, John E. Johnson and Rev. 
J. A. Ottesen; thence bending slightly to the south, 
it led to the large spring on Samuel Coon's farm, 
which was one of their favorite stopping places. At 
the time of the Black Hawk war there were no set- 
tlers in this town, and probably no fighting, although 
Black Hawk and his warriors, in their retreat from 
the Rock to the Wisconsin river, in the early part of 
July, 1832, crossed the northern part of the town, and 
encamped for some time near Koshkonong creek. An 
account of his sufferings at this place will be found in 
the succeeding chapter. 

Wm. M. May hew was the first settler of the town, 
and located on section 23, in 1837. He was a South- 
erner by birth, and, previous to the great financial 
panic of that year, was a prominent merchant in Mil- 
waukee. Losing his property at this time, he came 
to this town, and built a log house, on what is now 
the land of Geo. Odell, at the foot of quite a steep bluff, 
where for many years he kept a tavern. This was one 
of the regular stopping places of the teamsters draw- 
ing lead from the mines near the Blue Mounds to 
Milwaukee. Old settlers, entirely unaccustomed to 
the handling of lead, tell us, that to them, their wagons 
appeared almost empty. But, nevertheless, three or 



35Q DANE COUNTY TOWNS CHRISTIANA. 

four yoke of oxen were required to draw the wagons 
over the rough roads, and the shouts and curses. of the 
teamsters as they urged their oxen up the steep as- 
cent the other side of Mayhew's, could be heard for 
three-quarters of a mile around. For many years 
Mayhew's was a center of interest, Christiana post- 
office, the first, and for many years the only one in 
the town, being kept here, and as the nearest office 
was at Milton, this was the place at which nearly all 
the settlers in adjoining towns received their mail. 
Here, also, was held the first town meeting and several 
subsequent ones. 

In 1842, a number of settlers arrived, most of them 
being emigrants from Norway. Prominent among 
these were Hellik Gunderson, Jul Gisleson, Nils 
Olsen Smithback, and Thosten Levorson, all of whom 
except the latter, are now living. This was almost 
the beginning of Norwegian emigration to the United 
States, and was induced by the glowing descriptions 
o£ the mildness of the climate, the beauty of the prai- 
ries, and the fertility of the soil, given by members 
of a small colony from Norway, which, a few years 
before, had settled in Walworth county, near the state 
line. This report was printed in pamphlet form, and 
being quite extensively circulated in Norway, was 
largely instrumental in giving an impetus to emigra- 
tion to this country. The arrivals spoken of were 
only the beginning of a more extensive emigration of 
Norwegians to this section, and in the five years follow- 
ing, the greater portion of the town was settled by them. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CURISTIANA. 357 

Accustomed, in their native country, only to tim- 
bered land, these early settlers shunned the prairie, 
which seemed desolate and cheerless to them, but 
which is now considered as the more desirable land, 
and settled in the edges of the openings, and along the 
marshes. 

In the fall of 1S46, N. A. Perry arrived at the 
present site of Clinton, and erected the first house, in 
which he boarded the hands who were at work on the 
mill-dam. In the following year, the mill itself was 
built by Thos. and Nathan G.Van Horn. In the fall 
of 1848, the first store was opened by Wardner Earle, 
and in the fall of 1849, Christiana postoffice was re- 
moved from Mayhew's to this' place. Not many 
years after its settlement a brewery was established 
in this place by one Lewis, but after a few years its 
place was taken by a distillery, built by Mr. Jacobson, 
which, however, has not been in operation for some 
years. The present proprietors of the Christiana mills 
are O. II. Lee & Co., and the present merchant is C. 
Tollefson, who is one of the most prominent citizens 
of the place, and who is doing quite an extensive 
business. 

The first settlers at Utica were Samuel Head and 
S. H. Coon, who arrived in December, 1845, and who 
immediately built the first house, which was a one- 
story log affair (12x16) with a shed roof. In this 
they wintered, and in the following spring built an 
addition of equal size, making a gable roof. In 1846, 
Hampton Crandall, W. H. H. Coon and Eandolph 



358 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CHRISTIANA. 

Brown arrived, and in a short time this portion of the 
town was settled, principally by people from central 
New York. These settlers, who, excepting Mr. May- 
hew, were the first Americans in the town, instead of 
locating, as most of the Norwegians had done, in the 
openings, nearly all settled on the prairie. The first 
store in Utica, which was of gravel, was opened in 
1851 by Le Roy Crandall, now of Lawrence, Kansas, 
and here soon after the removal of Christiana post- 
office from Mayhew's to Clinton, Utica postoffice, 
named in honor of Utica, New York, was established. 
The old gravel store was taken down in 1872 and re- 
placed by a larger one of wood, now owned by W. H. 
IT. Coon. This made the second store in the place, 
one having been erected by F. E. Olsen in 1869. 

As has been before mentioned, to Clinton belongs 
the distinction of being the place in which the first 
and only distillery in the town was started, and to 
Utica, we believe, belongs the honor of being the 
starting point of temperance reform in this section. 
Soon after the organization of the town, a town meet- 
ing was being held at this place, in the old gravel 
school house, still standing but unused. Some of the 
candidates from the eastern portion of the town had 
furnished a keg of whisky, which was to serve the 
double purpose of catching votes and enlivening the 
occasion generally. The dispensers of this beverage 
improvised a bar-room in the end of a shed belonging 
to one of the neighboring settlers, and were having 
an exceedingly jolly time, when the owner of the 




AGRICULTURE. 

From Mitchell's New School Geography. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CUKISTIANA 361 

shed came in, and embracing a moment when all were 
busily drinking, seized the keg, and, carrying it into 
the middle of the road, put a heavy fence rail through 
it, greatly to the damage of the whisky, and the dis- 
gust of the imbibers. 

The early settlers endured many hardships, and 
often carried on their agricultural operations in the 
most primitive manner. The section of a large 
round tree, usually shod with iron, often formed the 
wheels of their carts or wagons, and until the intro- 
duction of threshing machines in 1848, the prevailing 
mode of threshing was indentical with that which has 
been practiced in Oriental countries for the last three 
thousand years. A large dry spot of ground was 
cleared off evenly, and packed as hard as possible. 
Upon this the grain was placed to the depth of a foot 
or more, with the heads in, and five or six yoke of 
oxen were driven over it until the grain was all trod- 
den out. The straw was then thrown off with forks, 
and the grain separated from the chaff with fanning 
mills. The first threshing machines, introduced at 
the date mentioned, were without separators, and 
were an improvement upon the method described in 
little else than speed and cleanliness. To sell their 
grain, a trip to Milwaukee, which was then their only 
market, was necessary, and which usually occupied a 
week, the wheat bringing from thirty to fifty cents, 
and in some instances even less. 

The first church in the town was of the Norwegian 
Lutheran denomination, and was organized in 1844, 



362 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CHRISTIANA. 

with Rev. Mr. Dietrichsen as pastor. The same year 
a log church was built by this society on section 27, 
which was superseded in 1858, by a neat and commodi- 
ous building of stone. During the first pastorate, one 
of the members, who was under discipline, made his 
appearance at church services one Sunday, and was 
peremptorily ordered out. He declined to leave, when 
the militant clergyman ordered some of the members 
to throw him out of doors by main strength. Feel- 
ing himself seriously aggrieved, he sued the pastor 
before Justice David Still man, at Albion Center. His 
attorney was Bjorn Anderson, father of Prof. R. B. 
Anderson, of the University of "Wisconsin. (By the 
way, the Professor's mother was the first white wo- 
man in the town of Albion.) The pastor pleaded 
his own case, but was beaten and fined five dol- 
lars. Not long after this, becoming disgusted with 
this country, he returned to Norway, where we hope 
that he conducted his pastoral affairs so successfully, 
that from a clergyman militant, he became a clergy- 
man triumphant. Mr. Dietrichsen was succeeded in 
1850, by Rev. A. C. Preus, and he in 1860, by Rev. J. 
A. Ottesen, the present pastor, who is widely and 
favorably known among his countrymen in this and 
adjoining states. 

In addition to the church already mentioned, there 
are three other church organizations: the Methodist 
and Presbyterian, located at Cambridge, and which are 
mentioned in the chapter following, and the Seventh- 
Day Baptists, which are located near Utica. This 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CHRISTIANA. 363 

church was organized in 1850, with Rev. Z. Camp- 
bell as pastor, and has a very neat and pleasantly 
located house which was built in 1866. The pres- 
ent pastor, Rev. Geo. W. Burdick, is a young man of 
much promise. 

In the early days of the town, before newspapers 
were so generally taken by farmers, it was necessary 
for politicians and candidates for office to take greater 
pains to look up their country friends, and enlist them 
in their behalf, than at present. Intent upon looking 
up their friends, Judge J. G. Knapp and Mr. Wilcox, 
the former being candidate for district attorney, and 
the latter for state senator, came into the town, and 
after a meeting at which they spoke, put up for the 
night with one of the most prominent citizens in the 
vicinity. As the house was small, and pretty well 
filled already, they occupied a bed belonging to a 
young man who was expected to be absent for the 
night. Rather late the next morning, a brother of 
the gentleman with whom they went home, supposing 
that the usual occupant of the bed had returned in 
the night, and thinking it was high time he was 
awake, went into the room, and seeing an empty meal 
bag, took it and laid it over the heads of the candi- 
dates very smartly several times. We are told that 
their astonishment at being thus suddenly and rudely 
wakened from a sound sleep, was only equaled by his 
consternation upon seeing that he was belaboring a 
couple of strange gentlemen from Madison; indeed, 
even now, though twenty-five years have elapsed, he 



361 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CHRISTIANA. 

recalls very vividly his fright when he beheld Mr. 
Wilcox's nightcap rising from among the bedclothes. 

The first public school was kept by Mrs. Wm. May- 
hew, at her husband's tavern, in the winter of 1845-6. 
The first school house, which was a rough log struc- 
ture, was built very soon after on section 10, and 
which remained standing until within a few years. 
From these small beginnings in educational matters, 
W T e have achieved very satisfactory results. We have 
now ten school houses in the town, the majority be- 
ing almost new, those of districts No. 2, 5 and 7 be- 
ing more than usually elegant buildings of brick, well 
furnished. District number 5 is in Cambridge, and 
is a commodious two story house, and is kept as a 
graded school. 

In common with nearly all the towns in the vicin- 
ity, until within a few years, the principal crop has 
been wheat, but since its yield has been so seriously 
affected by the chinch-bug and other causes, many of 
our best farmers have engaged more extensively in 
the raising of live stock, and as a consequence, have 
largely increased the area of their corn fields. In 
1876, the acreage of the various crops was as follows: 
Timothy or clover, 1,859; oats, 1,922: wheat, 2,155; 
corn, 3,457; barley, 1,166. 

Previous to 1871, but a small amount of tobacco 
was grown in the town, but as those who had culti- 
vated it found the soil adapted to it, and as it was at 
this time bringing a high price, many farmers en- 
gaged extensively in its culture. The subsequent de- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS* — CHRISTIANA. 3G5 

cline in prices, consequent upon over production, 
drove many to abandon it, and though not now so ex- 
tensively grown as a few years previous, its culture is 
still quite an important branch of agricultural indus- 
try, the area grown in 1876 being 328 acres. 



366 DANE COUNTY "TOWNS — CAMBRIDGE. 



CAMBEIDGE. 

BY HON. GEO. DOW AND A. B. CARPENTER. 

Cambridge village is situated on the extreme east- 
ern part of the county, in the township of Christiana, 
and about twenty-four miles southeast of Madison. 
It is beautifully situated on both sides of the Kosko- 
nong creek, with picturesque surrounding of oak 
openings and prairie lands. Immediately south of 
the village the country was very marshy, but now 
sufficiently improved to be used for pasturage; though 
in the early settlement of the town and before a road 
was made through, it was almost impassible in wet 
weather, and here it is said Black Hawk and his peo- 
ple took refuge in 1S32, after passing through Fort 
Atkinson, on his way to the Mississippi. On the dry 
spots between Cambridge and Clinton, he and his 
people could camp safe and dry, while the difficulty 
of access precluded any possibility of his being mo- 
lested by the troops. Here, Black Hawk says, his 
sufferings were very great, as there was but very little 
game or fish to be had, and his people were obliged 
to dig roots and bark the trees to satisfy their hunger, 
many of the old people dying from actual want. The 
marching and countermarching of the troops deceived 
them so much that it deterred the young men from 
separating to hunt or fish, although abundance of both 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CAMBRIDGE. 367 

game and fish were to be found immediately outside 
of their surroundings. Since these times, considerable 
change has taken place in the character of the land 
in the vicinity of Cambridge, as also in other parts 
of our county, the results of cultivation and the ex- 
tensive destruction of forest trees without supplying 
their place with other timber. Many of the early 
settlers can remember localities where were rapid 
flowing streams, that are now highly cultivated fields. 

In 1847, Joseph Keyes (father of E. W. Keyes, of 
political fame), Abel Keyes, and A. B. Carpenter, now 
of Beloit, purchased the water power and land forming 
the village, and surveyed and laid it out in July of 
the same year, and, early in the following fall, built 
the first dwelling house. During the same year they 
built the inevitable adjunct of an American village, a 
saw and grist mill, together with a store for the sale 
of merchandise. 

The same vear the Hon. Geo. Dow and Mr. Wheel- 
er built a hotel (the Cambridge House), and another 
store, and there also were several trades establish- 
ments. In 1856 Mr. Dow brought a carding ma- 
chine into the village for the preparing of wool. 

At the close of the first year, the village grew so 
rapidly, and daily receiving additions, that it numbered 
about 500 inhabitants, and celebrated its anniversary 
with that of the nation's on July 4th, 1848, on which 
occasion there were delegates from Madison, Lake 
Mills, Jefferson, Fort Atkinson and other adjoining 
towns, numbering about 3,000 persons. The proces- 



368 DANE COUNTY TOWNS CAMBRIDGE. 

sion formed in front of the Cambridge House, and 
was preceded to the stand by the Cambridge Rifle 
Company and the Madison Brass Band. Prayer was 
offered by Rev. Wm. Cargen, the Declaration read by 
Wm. Welch, Esq., of Madison, and the oration by Dr. 
L. Ravella Humphrey, of Beloit. 

The first store in the village was kept by A. B. Car- 
penter and Norman Dutcher, under the firm name of 
A. B. Carpenter & Co. The upper part of the store 
was used as a dwelling house, and access obtained by 
a ladder which, for better protection, was swung up 
at night. For several years the Indians were rather 
troublesome from their begging propensities, but were 
never hostile except in some of their drunken carous- 
als, when it was then deemed unsafe to either encoun- 
ter or have them near the village. 

"When Cambridge was first laid out, the surround- 
ing land was still unentered, and could be purchased 
at government figures, and Mr. A. B. Carpenter at 
that time entered 1,000 acres, which has proved to be 
among the richest and most fertile lands in the state. 
The laying out of the village was done under an assur- 
ance from the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Rail- 
road that they would pass through there; a promise 
which they never kept, but toward which the early 
settlers spent large amounts of money in expectation 
of their so doing. Wheat in those days brought 25 
cents a bushel, and oats 10 cents, and had to be mar- 
keted in Milwaukee, where merchandise was brought 
back in exchange, sometimes packed in flour barrels, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CAMBRIDGE. 369 

tliat cost at that time 55 cents each, empty, and were 
again returned full of flour. 

In 1864, Hon. George Dow built a woolen mill, 
and a large amount of superior woolen goods have 
been manufactured there, and sold throughout both 
the county and state. In IS 74, a cheese factory was 
also started by Mr. Dow, and has met with merited 
success. 

The 'scenery around Cambridge is beautifully di- 
versified by prairie, woodlands, cultivated farms and 
small lakes, the principal one of which is Ripley, or 
Dow's Lake. It is of considerable depth, and embraces 
a circuit of four miles in circumference; its water pure 
and clear as crystal, and, together with the other lakes 
abounding in the numerous varieties of fish to be found 
in the lakes around Madison, as also all kinds of game, 
in fact, the country around Cambridge was noted at 
one time as the hunter's paradise. Mr. Dow recol- 
lects seeing as many as 200 deer in a drove, and often 
75 to 100. 

There are two churches in the village, one Method- 
ist and one Presbyterian. In early times, the people 
attended church in an old log cabin; and for want of 
better, sat on fence boards laid across stakes of wood. 
The Methodist church was organized in 1848, and the 
present pastor is Rev. Mr. Hansen. The Presbyter- 
ian Church in 1817, and its present pastor, the Rev. 
John Patterson. 

The village is also the residence of the celebrated 
surgeon, Dr. J. C. Dundas, whose reputation as one of 
24 



370 DANE COUNTY TOWNS CAMBRIDGE. 

the most skillful surgeons, is well and widely known 
throughout all the northwest. He studied his profession 
in Europe among the universities of England, Hol- 
land, Germany, Russia and Norway, and entered the 
Holland service as a surgeon, was for over two years 
in that capacity in the empires of China and Japan. 
Dr. L. C. Clark is also a physician and surgeon in the 
village, with a good wide practice throughout the 
township and those adjoining, where he is highly 
esteemed for his professional ability and courtesy. 

The present population of Cambridge is about 400 
inhabitants, and the business is principally confined 
to supplying the wants of the surrounding country. 
Anions those eno-aored in business are the following: 
S. H. Butler, cabinetmaker; Messrs. George Dow & 
Son, commission merchants; Thomas Overson, hard- 
ware dealer; A. H. Kroerh, manufacturer of artificia) 
limbs; Thomas Slagg, drugs and groceries; James T. 
Gilbert & Brother, hotel keepers; Olson & Hodges, 
merchants; J. C. Dundas, physician and surgeon; 
L. C. Clark, physician and surgeon; Hans Anderson, 
boot and shoe maker; John Johnson, tailor; P. A. 
England, and Samuel Irwin, blacksmiths; T. N". Save, 
boot and shoe maker, Ho vey, Bros. & Co., merchants; 
and David Schoe, manufacturer of agricultural mach- 
inery. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PLEASANT SPRINGS. 37l 



PLEASANT SPRINGS. 

BY A. R. AMES, ESQ. 

The town of Pleasant Springs, about twelve miles 
southeast from Madison, is bounded on the north by 
Cottage Grove; on the east by Christiana; on the 
south by Dunkirk, and on the west by Dunn. In 
the government surveys, it is designated as township 
six north, range eleven east of the fourth principal 
meridian. 

The first town meeting was held at the house of 
John Patterson, April 4, 1848. Only twenty votes 
were cast, and the following named were declared 
duly elected: Supervisors — Daniel Wheeler, Chair- 
man, John Patterson, John Ketcham. Clerk — John 
Sunderman. Justice of the Peace — Daniel Wheeler. 
Commissioners of Highways — John S. Dailey, Peter 
S. Markham, Archibald Griffith. School Commis- 
sioners — John Sunderman, Archibald Griffith, Jacob 
Stombough. Assessors — John Patterson, Robert 
McComb. Treasurer — Winard Dingman. Consta- 
hie — Ezra H ortan. Jfence Viewers — Jacob Wald ruf , 
Jacob Patterson. Among other early settlers were 
K. H. Roe, A. Seaverson, K. Kittleson, K. A. Juve, 
K. A. Joitel, Francis B. and John W. Ames, James 
Bronte, Abraham Devoe and Zina Gilbert. 

Pleasant Springs received its name from a large 



372 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — PLEASANT SPEINGS. 

spring on the land of Ole Evenson, on section twenty- 
seven, and numerous smaller ones in different parts 
of the town. The first church was built where the 
Lutheran church now stands, on section fourteen. 
The first sermon preached by Pastor W. Dietrichson, 
under a large oak tree on A. K. Juve's farm, Septem- 
ber 2, 1844. The first school was taught in a private 
house. The first school house was built on section 
twenty-five. 

From a historical sketch of Dane county, in Harri- 
son & Warner's Atlas, we find the following: "Abel 
Rasdall, one of the pioneers of the Four Lake region, 
was born in Barren county, Kentucky, August 15, 
1815. When a young man, he went to Wisconsin 
and engaged in lead mining, and, in 1828, went to 
Galena, and assisted awhile Col. James Morrison in 
his mining operations at Porter's Grove, about nine 
miles from Blue Mounds. He soon engaged in the 
business of an Indian trader, locating his cabin on the 
eastern shore of First Lake (now in Pleasant Springs), 
about half a mile south of its outlet. He married 
a Winnebago woman, who was a real helpmate to him 
in the Indian trade. She sickened and died of small 
pox, Mr. Basdall alone attending her, and burying 
her remains. He subsequently married another of 
the same tribe,* but when her people migrated west, 
she concluded to go with them, so Rasdall and his 

[* This squaw had no nose, her former husband having inflicted 
the Indian penalty for infidelity. She always covered her face with 
her blanket. — Pub.] 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PLEASANT SPKINGS. 373 

Indian wife cut a blanket in two, each taking a part — 
the Indian mode of divorce. * * Galena was the 
point at which he obtained his goods, and where he 
disposed of his furs and peltry. He did service in 
the Black Hawk war, and was one of fourteen men 
who were sent forward as a scout when Gen. Dodge 
was pursuing the Indians from Rock river westward, 
before the battle of Wisconsin Heights. The party, 
which was commanded by Capt. Gentry, was sent 
forward to reconnoitre and prevent a surprise by the 
main body of Indians, which they were assured were 
but little in advance, as was afterwards proven, for 
this was the morning of the memorable 21st of July, 
near the eve of which was fought the battle of Wis- 
con sin Heights." 

About the same time Joe Pelkie and Louis Ar- 
mell, French Canadian traders, were located here. 
They also had squaws for their wives. Josiah A. 
Noonan, when appointed by Judge Doty to make ar- 
rangements for a surveying party to go to Madison 
and meander the shores of Third and Dead Lakes, 
with a view of platting out the western addition to 
" Madison, accompanied the party on horseback, and, 
after staying with them four days, provisions being 
very scarce, started for First Lake. The first night 
he put up with Pelkie and Armell, where he found 
good forage for his horse, and an abundance of pota- 
toes and salt for himself. The next morning, with a 
couple of good, large potatoes in his overcoat pockets, 
he started for Fort Atkinson. The country he found 



374 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — PLEASANT SPRINGS. 

poorly surveyed, being unable to make his lines or 
courses, and was necessitated to take the wind for his 
guide. The old Indian trail between Fort Atkinson 
and First Lake crossed sections thirteen, twenty-three 
and twenty-four, and is, where the ground has not been 
disturbed, very plainly marked by a deep track on the 
prairie. 

The surface of this town is gently undulating, con- 
sisting of prairies, oak openings, and marsh or mead- 
ow, well watered and particularly suited to grazing. 
The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture, 
the soil being remarkably fertile; wheat, oats, corn, 
barley, rye, potatoes, hay and tobacco are produced in 
abundance. In live stock it is one of the leading 
towns, having fine breeds of horses, cattle, sheep and 
hogs. Pleasant Springs tinds market for its produce 
in Madison, Stoughton, McFarland, Edgerton, Fort 
Atkinson, Cambridge and Christiana, nearly all of 
which have fine milling privileges. The town has 
two fine churches, and six school houses, one of which 
was built and furnished, with apparatus and a fine 
large bell, at a cost of nearly $1,900. This is claimed 
to be the best country school house in the state, till 
"other counties are heard from." 

From Liberty Mound, on section two (which is the 
highest point of land in the county except Blue 
Mounds), on a clear day, may be had a fine view of 
the lakes, Madison, Blue Mounds, the country towards 
Sun Prairie, Stoughton, Utica, Fort Atkinson and 
Jefferson. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PLEASANT SPRINGS. 375 

A peculiar featnre about tlie political history of the 
town is, that up to 1853, it was entirely democratic 
in its elections, but from that date up to the present, 
it has cast a decided republican vote. The change in 
political views was so very sudden and almost unex- 
pected that, at the first election in the above year, 
only one democratic vote was cast. 

It w^as also about this time, says Hon. John A. 
Johnson, or little after, that Hon. ¥m. It. Taylor, 
since governor, was elected to the state senate over 
Hon. H. H. Giles. Mr. Giles was at that time rail- 
road station agent at Stoughton, and a fierce onslaught 
was made upon him during the campaign by the 
friends of Mr. Taylor, as being the agent and repre- 
sentative of a great monopoly, while Mr. Taylor was 
the friend per se of the abused farmer. The demo- 
cratic stump orators showed very clearly that the rail- 
road was charging 12 cents per bushel freight on 
wheat from Stoughton to Milwaukee, when six cents 
was ample compensation, and intimated that if Taylor 
was elected monopoly would be destroyed, and the 
price of wheat would be raised at least six cents per 
bushel. This was a pretty strong argument, and at 
last one Pleasant Spring farmer determined that he 
would vote for Taylor, though he was a little mixed 
as to the position he was to be elected to, as his knowl- 
edge of English was not the most profound. The 
farmer marketed his wheat at Stoughton, and he had 
heard Taylor's name coupled with the six cents raise 
in wheat. When he heard of Taylor's election ho 



376 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — PLEASANT SPRINGS. 

joyfully loaded liis wagon with wheat and wended 
his way to Stoughton to realize the higher price, 
supposing he would find Taylor duly installed as 
station agent, the position which he with his vote 
had helped to give him. Arriving at the depot 
his first inquiry was as to the price of wheat, and 
finding it had not advanced at all, demanded an 
interview with Taylor. When informed that he 
had been basely cheated into giving a democratic 
vote and for such a reason, his feelings may be 
better imagined than described. He w r ent home su- 
premely disgusted with the corruptions and dishon- 
esty of the country. 

On the farm of J. I. Williams, bordering on Ke- 
gonsa, or First Lake, are a number of Indian mounds. 
Through the courtesy of the officials of the Milwaukee 
& St. Paul Railroad, passengers are landed or taken 
on 'at the "Sugar Bush," a large grove on Mr. Wil- 
liams' farm. The use of this grove is freely given 
for camp meetings, picnics, hunting parties, etc. The 
lake abounds in fish, while the woods and fields are 
well supplied with game. The final outlet of the 
Four Lakes, the Yahara, has its source at the eastern 
point of the lake. This crosses sections twenty, 
twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty-two and thirty-three. 
Mr. Williams proposes to launch a beautiful little 
steamer, now being built in Pittsburg, upon the lake 
the present season, and by whose courtesy and liber- 
ality we are enabled to present to our readers, an 
exquisite engraving of this elegant steamer as she 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PLEASANT SPRINGS. 379 

will appear on Lake Kegonsa. She is fifty-six feet 
long, four feet six inches deep in hull, nine feet 
broad, with a lower and upper deck, and is propelled 
by a twenty horse-power engine. She is designed by 
him as a pleasure craft, to be u&ed for personal en- 
joyment, and to add to the interes{ of the place by 
using it for pleasure parties, picnics, etc., if the prop- 
er encouragement is given, to meet expenses of run- 
ning it, and is designed to be the beginning of an 
investment which will convert the Sugar Bush Grove 
into one of the most enjoyable, as well as one of the 
most complete places of rational pleasure in the state, 
believing that Madison will wake up to a sense of 
'' Its best Holt" and stretch its arm down to Ke- 
gonsa, so that while Madison may be the head source 
of pleasure, the Sugar Bush Grove with its peculiar 
charms will be indispensable to her pleasure-seekers. 
It is hoped that some day soon, all obstacles to a 
free access to all the four Lakes will be removed, and 
the charms' of these matchless bodies of water be 
more fully brought forth by easy intercourse through 
Yahara's inviting current. 

The present town officers are : Supervisors, Wil- 
liam Seamonson, chairman, Elias Nichols, Ole Moe; 
clerk, E. T. Cleven ; assessor, Lewis Iverson; treasurer, 
Gunder Edwards; justices of peace, Oliver Johnson, 
Ole A. Drotning. 



3S0 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BKISTOL. 



BRISTOL. 

BY J. R. DAVIS, Esq. 

The town of Bristol is about thirteen miles from 
Madison, tlie center being nearly midway between Mad- 
ison and Columbus. It lies on the northern boundary 
of Dane county, which is separated by the town of 
Hampden from Columbia county, and is known on 
the government survey as township 9 north, of range 
11 east. It was formerly a part of Sun Prairie. 

The town was first settled by David Brazee, and 
shortly afterwards by P. ~W. Davison, M. Sweet, 
William W. Patrick, and William II. Clark. The 
first town meeting was held at the house of George 
C. Smith, in 1848, and W. W. Patrick was elected su- 
pervisor. 

The early history of the town does not abound in as 
many incidents and occurrences as some of its adjoin- 
ing towns, having no place of public note or resort, in 
consequence of its being somewhat oft' the usual beaten 
road, and thus had few of those interesting way marks 
which are known to enliven and amuse the traveler in 
those early days. Still, it was by no means deserted, 
commercially speaking, for one of the main traveled 
roads went through the southeast part — being the old 
state road running from Beaver Dam, through Colum- 
bus, to Madison. It was a common event in those 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BRISTOL. 381 

days to see the red man roving over its wild and 
beautiful prairies, whose trail went through the town 
leading from Horicon lake, the head waters of the 
Rock river, to Madison lakes. The surface of the 
land presents a picturesque landscape, being as a rule 
quite level, and about equally divided between wood 
and prairie. But like too many other towns in the 
county, its beautiful forests are being cut down too 
fast, and not enough of other trees set out to supply 
the want which we will ultimately be compelled to 
feel, if no proper provision is made for tree planting. 
There are no rivers of any size in the town, although 
a good stream, called Waterloo creek, which rises in 
the northern part of the town, and then runs south- 
easterly into the town of Medina, gives an excellent 
water power throughout most of the year, and the old 
stone grist mill, formerly built by Mr. Aiken, having 
been divested of its old fashioned water-wheel, and re- 
placed with one of the improved style, by Mr. Alex- 
ander Stevens, its present owner, is doing a good, 
continuous business in the custom line, except dur- 
ring very dry periods, when the old mill has a va- 
cation, and the humming of its machinery ceases 
until nature causes the streams to rise, which again 
furnishes the gratuitous motive power, and sends 
the old mill to work 

The red man of early days, who traveled his foot 
beaten trail leading through the southeastern part 
of the town, could no doubt give some graphic des- 
criptions of a lake generally known as " Brazee's 



382 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BRISTOL. 

Lake," where he employed himself in trapping and 
other amusements. But in this enlightened age this 
same lake is a bone of contention, so to speak, and a 
source of trouble for the white man, out of which 
law suits have arisen. The difficulty arising from 
it is somewhat of a complicated nature, so much so, 
that a suit to determine the real owners of it has been 
carried from one court to the other, and is now pend- 
ing in the U. S. court. A reference to the facts, 
which seems to be as follows, will not be out of place 
here. 

The lake, like some other bodies of water in this vi- 
cinity, has year by year been gradually drying up, 
until at the present time the husbandman's plow 
traverses it instead of the Indian's canoe, and wdiich 
covering over 200 acres, more or less, persons owning 
land on its border, very naturally supposed that their 
farms were getting larger in proportion, while a sec- 
ond party comforted themselves by supposing that 
they w^ere the lucky ones, and had bought the lake 
(now a fertile piece of land) from the government, 
having entered it at ten shillings per acre. 

The two main traveled roads are what are known 
as the Columbus and the Bristol roads; the first, 
or the old state road, runs through the eastern part 
of the town, while the other runs almost due north 
and south from the north end of the town through to 
Sun Prairie, its " twin sister," and for beautiful land- 
scapes and sightseeing, as well as the fertility of the 
soil and number of improved farms and farm build- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BRISTOL. 383 

ings which lie on either side of this road and others 
which intersect it, is hard to beat in the county; in 
fact, there is no waste land in the town, and the time 
is not far distant when Bristol will be among the 
foremost in wealth and population. 

Its market is Sun Prairie, generally speaking, while 
many draw their produce at times to Columbus. 

The inhabitants of the town are chiefly Americans, 
Germans and Norwegians. The former having set- 
tled on the prairies in the southern half of the town, 
and the Germans in the timber land in the northeast 
part, while the latter occupy the northwest portion, 
which is about equally divided between prairie and 
wood land. 

In politics the town is about equally divided, and, 
during the civil war, Bristol sent her regular number 
of soldiers to defend the government, some of whom 
never returned alive, but whose names will ever 
be held in deep remembrance by our citizens. The 
town has been represented in the legislature by Hon. 
K. AY. Davison, in its early history, and by Hon. J. 
M. Flint in later years. Messrs. Hidden, Chipman, 
Davison, and Haner have been chosen to represent the 
town on the county board at various times. 

The liquor traffic question has long since become a 
mooted one, and although the intelligent voters of the 
town have decided that those who sell liquor must pay 
a high license, still there are plenty of them in the 
northern part of the town licensed to keep saloons. 

The town is well dotted with school houses, and ed- 



384 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BRISTOL. 

ucational privileges are generally good. There are in 
the town two churches. The M. E. church, generally 
known as the "Bristol Church," is located on the 
Bristol road about 2f miles from Sun Prairie, and is 
a good edifice, containing an audience room, and a 
basement which is used for lectures, donations, etc. 
It is also occupied once a week by the "Grangers," 
who have an excellent Grange in good running order. 
The other, a Catholic church, and one of the finest 
edifices in the county, is in the northwest part of the 
town, known as the "Settlement." The town cannot 
boast of a "Town House," though repeated attempts 
have been made at "Town Meeting's" in that direc- 
tion, but thus far they have not yet been successful. 

There are in the town two stores, the largest of 
which is owned by John Arians, who also keeps the 
post office. The town was formerly one of the prin- 
cipal wheat growing sections in the county, but of 
late years the people are turning more attention to 
raising of stock and to dairy pursuits. There are two 
cheese factories that are producing an excellent qual- 
ity of cheese, and well patronized. One is owned by 
Mr. Chipman, who keeps a large dairy himself, about 
a mile from Sun Prairie, on the Bristol road; the 
other is owned by Mr. John Arians, in the northern 
part of the town, and who is, as mentioned above, 
also proprietor of the store. There are in the town 
several blacksmith and wagon shops. 

The town ranks in wealth and general industry with 
any in the county, although in common with other 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BRISTOL. 385 

places that have made wheat raising a staple produc- 
tion, it has felt the hard times and the effects of the 
"chinch bu«;s." But the fact that farmers are now 
more scrupulous in preserving the prairie chickens 
and other birds that have been wontonly killed off, 
and also raising more hay than wheat, will, in a 
great measure outflank this terrible pest. The farm- 
ers of Bristol are fully aware that they are the owners 
of their lands, and must use diligence and care to pre- 
serve their crops from injuries, and as a means toward 
carrying out these facts, prohibit the trespass on their 
lands for the hunting of prairie chicken, which they 
deem their friend, and the enemy of thousands of in- 
sects that prey upon their crops. A very exhilarating 
sport in the way of hunting, and one which would 
meet with a hearty response from the farmers, can be 
had by hunters coming in the winter and ridding the 
town of the wolves (which are numerous in this 
and adjoining towns since the "Peshtigo fire"), that 
kill the sheep in large numbers. 

The town, like all others, has had its share of law 
suits, and we will relate an incident or two. A num- 
ber of years ago, one of the former town treasurers 
deposited the town moneys in a Madison bank, which 
failed, and the town supposed by some to have lost it, 
while others thought the treasurer responsible for the 
whole amount. During the unsettled condition of 
the issue between the town and the treasurer, a bill 
was introduced into the legislature for his release, and 
which passed, and left the town to whistle for the 
25 



886 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BRISTOL. 

money. The town board were thus authorized to free 
him from his bonds and indebtedness. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the town is known to 
have good, smooth level roads, and bridges, still, not 
long since a $5,000 suit was commenced in court by 
a party who complained to the supervisors of the shaky 
condition of one of the town bridges, and had re- 
ceived injuries to his horse and vehicle therefrom, 
so brought suit accordingly. But it puzzled both the 
supervisors and the complainant to find out a few 
days afterwards where the dangerous place was. They 
had driven across into a neighboring town before they 
discovered the offending bridge, and then only after 
having been shown it by an individual who claimed he 
thought he saw the accident. The joke was thought 
too good for both the town and complainant, except 
the unnecessary legal expense the town was put to. 

Bristol without doubt has some of the best kept 
roads in any town, being in a great number of places 
shaded on both sides of the highways by beautiful 
trees. Thrift and energy are visible among its citizens 
as is witnessed by their comfortable homes, and the 
hiffh class of intelligence. Let the business man and 
visitor see the town of Bristol before they pass judg- 
ment on Dane county, and they will be pleased with 
its rich soil, beauty of landscapes and general appear- 
ance. From its elevated plain can be seen the Capitol 
of the state, and on a clear day the far off " Blue 
Mounds " in the distance. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS RUTLAND. 387 



RUTLAND. 

BY S. W. GRAVES, ESQ. 

Tins township lies on the southern boundary line 
of the county, which separates it from Union in Rock 
county. It is about fourteen miles southeast of Mad 
ison, and is known as township 5 north, of range 10 
east. 

The first permanent settlement commenced in the 
summer of 1842, by three families, Joseph Dejean 
and family, John Prentis and his father and Dan 
Pond. They settled in one corner of the town on the 
old Janesville and Madison road. The next year two 
other young men came in and took up claims in the 
same neighborhood. There was no settlement made 
in any other part of the town until 1814, when Squire 
Jonathan Lawrence and son, and myself and family 
came from Vermont, on the fifth day of July, and went 
back into the woods, as it was termed then. We took 
up a section of land and commenced a settlement by 
clearing, breaking and building our cabins ready for 
winter. During the fall four other cabins were built, 
of which two in the northern part of town, were for 
Jeremiah Douglass and Goodrich Cummings, and 
one adjoining me for Gideon Cummings, while Rich- 
ard Priest, who came late in the fall, settled at a large 
spring in the center of the town. He came from In- 



3S8 DANE COUNTY TOWNS RUTLAND. 

diana, and had eleven children, most of whom were 
grown to men and women. 

In early spring of 1845, there came in a large num- 
ber of people from Vermont and settled in the south 
part of the town, which took the name of the Vermont 
settlement, while in the northern part there came 
in quite a number from Maine, among whom were 
the Douglasses, Dammons, and Caslies, and a few from 
New Turk and Ohio, and settled there, and it w r as 
known as the Maine settlement. 

It was estimated that there were about 400 inhabit- 
ants in the town in 1845. We had the advantage 
over many other towns in the first settlement, as there 
were no speculators' lands that could be held in re- 
serve for the rise in value. The town had not those 
peculiar attractions for them which other towns pos- 
sessed, with their large prairies and groves of tim- 
ber, as the entire town was almost all burr oak-open- 
ings, with considerable marsh and a small part prairie 
in the north. The lands belonged to the general gov- 
ernment, and were open for entry at any time, but 
most of the settlers that came here were poor and not 
able to enter these lands; some could enter a 40 acres 
and some an 80 acres, and so we organized claim soci- 
eties to protect one another in the settlement of our 
homes. I must relate to you some incidents that oc- 
curred in 1845-6, which will illustrate the method we 
had of protecting each other. Our societies were thor- 
oughly organized by officers. If any one attempted 
to enter any land that w r as already claimed by a settler, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS RUTLAND. 389 

lie was immediately notified to appear before the exe- 
cutive board to give a reason why he entered the land; 
if he persisted, he was immediately notified to settle 
satisfactorily with the claimant, and if not, to leave 
town immediately. There were a few cases where 
they would not settle, and if they attempted to build 
their cabins, the people would meet in mass and tear 
down the same. 

In the winter of 1846, the legislature passed a law 
giving the people the right to organize into towns in 
Dane county. The people of our town met soon after 
the passage of the law, and organized themselves into a 
town, and called it Eutland after the name of a town 
in Yermont. On the first Tuesday in April, 18-tfi, 
we held our first election,- and elected as Supervis- 
ors — Jonathan Lawrence, chairman, David West 
and Henry Edmonds; Town Clerk — S. W. Graves; 
Road Commissioners — David Tipple, S. W. Graves 
and Goodrich Cummings. 

Since the settlement of our town, we have progressed 
slowly but steadily in agricultural pursuits, being all 
farmers. There are no large streams or villages, no 
manufactories, but a few mechanics. Our soil is 
good and well adapted for farming purposes; and as 
a farming community, we are very well located as to 
markets. There are no railroads in town, but we have 
the advantage of two, viz.: the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and Saint Paul, which runs along near the east 
line of the town, and very convenient for the people 
on the east side of the town to get their produce to 



390 DANE COUNTY TOWNS RUTLAND. 

market, while the Chicago & Northwestern road just 
enters one corner of the town and runs along near the 
west line, which gives us a good market with Chicago. 
Our market towns are Stoughton and Edgerton on 
the east, Oregon, Brooklyn and Evansville on the west. 

Since we have changed our mode of farming (less 
wheat for chinch bugs to devour), and gone to raising 
clover, neat stock, wool and pork, butter and cheese, 
we have done much better, getting rich slowly. 

We have three churches, the Free-Will Baptist at 
the north part of the town, with a good meeting house; 
the United Brethren church at a little village on the 
west, with a small meeting house; and a Methodist 
church, with a good house of worship in the village 
of Brooklyn, in the township of Rutland, the village 
being on the line of two towns. There is quite a 
church of regular Baptists in town, but they unite 
with the church in Union, and have a good house 
of worship there. 

Our town is organized into eight school districts 
and some joint districts, with very good school houses, 
and all maintain schools from six to eight months in 
the year. 

We have but few natural curiosities, and they are 
some that used to attract our attention in an early 
day. A small river rises in the northwest corner of 
our town and runs southeast, and leaves the town at 
the southeast corner, and along this river there are a 
great number of springs; there is one spring so large 
that it runs a grist-mill within ten rods of its head 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS RUTLAND. 391 

with two runs of stone. There is one mound spring 
twenty-four feet in diameter, and so deep it is diffi- 
cult to find bottom. I have sounded it twenty feet 
and found none. There is a lake, known as Island 
Lake, which in early times was considered a curiosi- 
ty. It has' an island near the center, of about three 
acres, which was once thickly wooded with good rock 
maple trees, with no others within twenty miles. They 
were so fine, and all claimed them, that it led to a 
series of troubles, which left no other alternative, 
in order to settle the matter, but to go on the island 
and cut them down. Our stone quarries, of which 
we have quite a number, are full of interest to the 
geologist in hunting out the fossil remains. 

The health of our town, from its first settlement un- 
til the present, has ever been good, which is owing to 
the numerous springs of pure water and the elevation 
of the land, which is ever receiving pure air from the 
surrounding hills, and no sunken places to engender 
diseases. 

There are no Indian relics, no camps, trails, graves 
or mounds. When I first came into town the Indians 
were very numerous. They would often pitch their 
tents near some spring, and hunt deer for weeks and 
then move off. 

In speaking of our town politically, perhaps this is 
a delicate subject, but I will give you a little some- 
thing that has taken place in the political arena in the 
settlement of our town. In the south part, in the 
Yermont settlement, the Ohio people and part of 



392 DANE COUNTY TOWNS RUTLAND. 

the New York people were whigs. The Maine peo- 
ple in the north part of the town were democrats, but 
the whigs had a majority. We used to have some 
warm times in the first settlement, but in the organi- 
zation of the republican party in 1S55, all of the Ver- 
mont settlement, all of the Ohio, and most of the New 
York people joined the republican party, but the peo- 
ple of Maine, to a man, held to their old party, and 
some of the old people were so disaffected that 
they left the town. Since the organization we have 
remained very strong republican, keeping a very 
even tenure; no ups and downs; there being two hun- 
dred republicans to twenty or thirty democrats. It 
lias ever been termed the banner town of the county. 
Most of the first settlers of the town are not here 
now; many have died, others have left. All of the 
Maine people except one have left town. The present 
inhabitants are a majority American people, some 
Welch, some Scotch, a few English, and quite a set- 
tlement of Danes. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 303 



BURKE. 

BY JOHN DOUGLAS. 

This town is known as township 8 north, of range 
10 east, and is equally divided into oak openings and 
prairie, with a marsh in the westerly part. Two 
branches of Token Creek enter the town. The east- 
ern branch on section 3, and the western on section 6. 
then unite on section 7, run thence through the town 
of Westport into Fourth lake, being the largest stream 
that flows into the lake. The town received its name 
after the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, one of Ireland's 
illustrious orators and poets. 

In 1847, it was made as one of the four towns of 
Windsor; the first town meeting was held at the 
house of Horace Lawrence, Charles M. Nichols 
being elected chairman, and Ira Mead, clerk,. In 
1852, it was organized as a separate town, and its 
first meeting held at the house of Adam Smith, when 
he was elected chairman, and John Douglas, clerk. 

The Indian trail from Koshkonong and Third 
lakes, to Fort Winnebago (now Portage City), passed 
through the town, near the Indian Spring, on section 
26. It was a well beaten track, and is still seen, 
where cultivation has not obliterated its traces, and 
on which the early settlers frequently saw as many as 
five hundred to one thousand Indians,with their wives 
and little ones, pass and repass in a week. 



394 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUKKE. 

On section 10, in Mr. McMarran's field, there are 
two ancient circular mounds, and on II. P. Hall's 
lands, section 2b, there is a mound in the form of a 
cross, while on section 30, on the farm of Henry 
Satchjen, there is a large oblong mound, running in 
a northwest and southeast direction, which was prob- 
ably used at one time as a fort. These are all losing 
their identity by frequent cultivation of the soil. 

Horace and William Lawrence came herefrom Ver- 
mont, in 1837, and built the first house in the town, 
on section 11, now owned and occupied by Washing- 
ton Woodward. Lawrence lived here in the year 183S, 
and had a well known fame as a remarkably good 
hunter. In the winter he has been known to kill a 
score of deer, besides a great variety of other game. 
He is still noted among hunters as a good shot. 
Horace kept "bach" for some little time, but after- 
wards started a hotel, which for a number of years 
was known as the " Prairie House." When he raise! 
his first barn it is said that nearly every white man in 
Dane, and some from Columbia county were present. 
The barn was afterwards destroyed by lightning. 

The road to Fort Winnebago lay near the Prairie 
House, and many notables, even in early times had 
occasion to pass and repass through the town. Before 
the Mexican war, Gen. Scott (then only a colonel), 
together with Jefferson Davis and Zach. Taylor, being 
appointed by the United States government as in- 
spectors of the military forts in the west, put up at 
the Prairie House, where they were entertained with 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUEKE. 395 

tlie common fare of deer, prairie liens and pork. Gen. 
Scott was the marked man among the others, not only 
for his tall and manly bearing, but also for the pre- 
cise care he had of his person, performing his ablu- 
tions regularly and systematically. It is reported 
that they held a council with the Indians here. 

The Indians were quite numerous in those early 
times, and were always peculiarly desirous of obtain- 
ing a little fire water, a privilege they then possessed, 
and which extended as well to some of the whites — 
indeed., the whites were known to be particularly 
fond of " Pecatonica " and " Rock River," pet 
names given for several kinds of whisky, and of a 
very poor quality at that. The Indians traded back 
and forward in the town for a number of years until 
targe game became scarce, when their visits were not 
as frequent. 

When Alex. Botkin settled on sections 27 and 28 (the 
'76 farm), the Indians always camped near his house, 
and in his dealings with them he at first had some 
trouble, in consequence of their innate thieving pro- 
pensities and greed, but afterwards he became a 
person of considerable importance among them, so 
that on one occasion, when they had come in larg- 
er numbers than usual, he (in order that a proper 
understanding might exist between them and him- 
self) assembled a council of all the chiefs in his 
house. Sitting down on the floor in a circle, 
while he stood in the center, he explained to them 
that they might camp near his house if they wished, 



396 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 

but must not steal liis corn or hay; in fact (as lie 
well knew the Indian character as being; unsafe to 
give a gift without some equivalent) he would give 
them nothing; but if they had venison or anything 
to sell, he would willingly purchase the same. The 
council agreed to his request, and he had no trouble 
with them afterwards. 

The mail was carried from Madison to Fort Win- 
nebago, through this town, crossing the Creek a mile 
above the village on the old Indian trail, in the town 
of Windsor. There was no wag-on road leading to 
the fort at that time, and business required to be done 
there had to be reached by passing across the creek 
at the old Indian trail. The only two houses on the 
road were the Lawrences', afterward called the " Pra 
irie House," and Wallis Rowan's, near Poynette. 

Chas. S. Peaslee, now living in Sun Prairie village, 
was an early settler on what is now known as Robert 
Ogilvie and A. C. Cummings' farm, on sees. 27 and 
28. The frequent changes occurring among the 
settlers makes it difficult to trace up all occupants of 
this lovely spot; but soon after we find Alexander 
C. Botkin, Esq., lived here, near the beautiful rise of 
ground close to the road, that is now so tastefully sur- 
rounded with evergreens and other trees. He put up 
a sign, with the two large figures, '76, on it, in honor 
of the year in which the Declaration of Independence 
was made (1776), a term by which the farm is known 
even up to the present time, although it is also known 
as the " Courtney Place," because an English sea 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 397 

captain of that name bought it, and there built a 
stone castle. It was struck by lightning and burned 
when the Hon. II. B. Sanderson owned and occupied 
it in 1870. It has not been rebuilt since, the walls 
still continuing to stand like some ancient ruins of 
feudal times. One of the former owners of the place, 
D. J. Powers, set out the poplar trees on the south- 
east side of the road, while Mr. Courtney planted 
those on the northwest side. J. C. Plumb, the cele- 
brated nurseryman, now of Milton, Pock county, at 
one time leased this place, and many of the evergreens 
and fruit trees are of his planting. He was well 
known for a new variety of plum he raised. But 
the best were those in the house, and as good things 
are often moving, so they were transplanted to another 
place. 

There was also a sign board placed on the hill beyond 
this farm, at the forks of the Portage and Columbus 
roads, but it is reported that there were rival taverns 
on each of these roads, and the sign board was fre- 
quently cut down by the landlords of these respective 
taverns, in the hope that travelers getting the wrong 
road, might patronize the house of the depredator. 

Prairie fires were the dread of early settlers, and 
were sometimes caused by the Indians setting fire to 
the long grass for the purpose of driving the deer. 
These fires burned with intense heat, and traveled with 
great rapidity, making extraordinary leaps across 
creeks or any barriers that the settlers might have 
prepared to impede their progress and prevent the 



398 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

burning of their fields of grain or stacks of hay. 
Many a time, when the husband would be absent on 
business or at the market, have the wife and children 
been compelled to spend the whole night righting 
these fires from their homes, and when accomplished, 
would fall exhausted and powerless at the last place 
they extinguished the flames. 

The late Alexander Botkin used to relate an inci- 
dent of a semi-comic character, that we must try to 
repeat here. To be able to whip the prairie fires, re- 
quired a great deal of skill and tact, so that the ope- 
rator would put out the fire without scattering it or 
allowing any sparks to attach themselves to the hazel 
brush used as a whip, and thus avoid throwing fire 
backward when swinging the brush. A live Yankee 
from Vermont (visiting a neighbor of Mr. Botkin's), 
and who exhibited no capacity for knowing less than 
his western friends, whom, in fact, he rather con- 
ceived to be behind the times, and so was able 
to show them a little, started out one day to burn the 
grass round some stacks of hay, that had been put 
up in a meadow close by, just as Mr. Botkin stood on 
a knoll among some buckwheat. Looking for a mo- 
ment toward the man to see what his object was, he saw 
him deliberately strike a match and light the grass 
on the windward side, then, with his hazel brush, 
commence whipping the flames. lie had not pro- 
ceeded far before he found that it required consider- 
able alacrity to be able to control the fire, and, as 
with Yankee energy, he strove to subdue the flames, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 309 

it was but faint as compared with the consternation 
that afterwards seized him, when he felt an intense 
warmth on his back and turned to see the cause. lie 
had whipped the fire into the stacks, and they were 
in a blaze. It was but a moment more and he was 
next seen rushing at a frantic speed across the prai- 
rie, seeming to imagine that every step he took, was 
but one ahead of the devouring flames, while Mr. Bot- 
kin stood, the lone, but convulsed spectator of what he 
thought was Yankee confidence with a great deal of 
energy. 

Men in those times seemed to be able to endure a 
greater amount of fatigue than they can at the present 
time. To travel on foot between here and Milwaukee 
was a very frequent occurrence, and was accomplished 
in about twenty-four hours. Mr. Botkin had at one 
time twelve acres of heavy oats to cut, and engaged 
four men to cut them. Two of them were men of about 
six feet hight, while the others were ordinary size. 
The tallest men cradled the oats, while the others 
bound them. Starting about seven in the morning, 
in the evening at sun down, the oats were all cut and 
bound. They cut very large swarths, and the binders 
kept up with each cut of the cradle. 

Wolves were the scavengers of the prairie, and 
were also great pests around the farm. When any 
cattle died, they were removed to a convenient place 
away from the house, when in the evening, and often 
shortly after the carcass was left, the wolves would as- 
semble in packs, and the night be made, with their 



400 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BUKKE. 

snarling bowlings, the impersonation of the infernal 
regions. 

About 1841, Abel Rasdall and Adam Smith settled 
on section 14, on land now owned by Mr. Ilepker. 
They built a log cabin and broke up some of the land, 
but shortly after, Mr. Smith concluded to build a 
hotel, which he conducted for a number of years, and 
which was known, far and near, as " Smith's tav- 
ern." The building is still standing, and many 
pleasant and pleasing associations are connected with 
this home and household. He kept the first post- 
office in town, and has held that office for a number 
of years, as well as others of trust and honor. Syl- 
vester Dunlap kept a store here for some years, 
and built up an excellent business. In 1848, one 
of the first school houses in town was built on the 
present site of Mr. Smith's elegant brick residence, 
but the school having been located in a more suitable 
place the old building was moved back, and is used 
by him as a granary. The new school house is 
located on a triangular piece of land, surrounded by 
some burr oaks, with the public highways on three 
sides of it. 

Simjjlicity of life was always a marked feature 
among the early pioneers, and not less so was the im- 
plicit confidence they extended to each other and to 
entire strangers, as the following incident will show. 
When William Yroman, now of Madison, left New 
York to come to Madison, he came by way of Mil- 
waukee. After waiting for some days, and finding 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 401 

that lie could not get through by stage, in conse- 
quence of the roads being in a bad condition from 
recent rains, he resolved to walk the distance on foot. 
After meeting with considerable difficulties (passing 
over the newly-formed causeway in the town of Deer- 
field, knee-deep in water), he came near the town of 
Burke, where he met a young man on horseback, who 
inquired of him if he was going to Madison, and 
if he was acquainted there. Answering in the 
affirmative, that he had a brother there, the young 
man looking at him a moment, and at the same time 
dismounting from his horse, told Mr. Vroman that he 
knew his brother, and as he seemed tired, he must 
ride to Madison ; then directing him where to 
stable the horse, that he might find it conveniently 
when he again returned, left him in possession of 
the animal, he being then on his way to Watertown. 
The young man was then unknown to Mr. Vroman, but 
he afterward found him to be the Hon. Adam Smith, 
whose confidence in him, a stranger, was an astonish- 
ing phase of western life that he had never ex- 
perienced before, nor had even any conception of. 
The simple fact that Mr. Smith knew his brother, 
George Vroman, was the measurement by which he 
judged the new acquaintance by the old. 

Rough exteriors often cover warm hearts, and we 
are not guilty of flattery when we relate another 
incident just as pleasing. A poor German, near 
Mr. Smith's, had lost his horse just at the very 
busiest season of seeding, and the man being unable 
26 



402 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

to purchase or hire another, was in the awkward pre- 
dicament of failing to get his seed in the ground. 
Adam Smith, hearing of the circumstance, rode over 
to the man's house, and, ascertaining the facts of the 
case to be so, told him he might come over to his 
barn and get one of his horses, which he could use 
until he had completed his seeding. This act at 
ordinary times might not have been deemed of much 
importance, but all farmers know the preciousness of 
such generosity, at a time when days are as months 
to them. 

In early times the roads across the prairies were 
numerous, and often crossed each other in such a man- 
ner as to be perplexing to those unacquainted with 
the different tracks, who were liable to lose their 
way if not fortunate in striking the right one. On 
these roads emigrants' ffoods and lead from the mines 
at Blue Mounds were hauled by ox teams and covered 
wagons, popularly known as " prairie schooners." 
The teamsters and occupants, when they halted for 
the day, would usually select some suitable place that 
was known to provide shelter for themselves and 
grass for their animals. On the farm of II. P. Hall, 
section 28, there is a large burr oak that was a com- 
mon resort, and was well known among the pioneers 
and immigrants as the " Traveler's Home." The 
tree is about ten feet in circumference toward the 
base, and about seven feet from the ground there are 
five branches that spread out from the trunk nearly 
forty feet. It occupies as much ground in Mr. Hall's 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 403 

orchard as ten apple trees would, and stands in full 
view of the road, strong and vigorous, spreading over 
the ground like a great mammoth tent. Many a weary 
traveler has eaten his frugal meal under its sheltering 
branches, and it was a frequent occurrence to see as 
many as a dozen of the " prairie schooners " either at 
anchor or sailing in sight of this noble oak, where 
hotel charges were as free as the air of the wide 
spread prairie, accommodations being plenty and grass 
and water near at hand. 

Alexander Lamere, a Canadian Frenchman, was an 
early settler. He owned a farm on section 10, which 
he sold to Mr. McMurran and Martin Lewis. He 
was at one time engaged in the service of the Hud- 
son Bay Company, and when residing here, usually 
occupied himself hunting and trapping. He was well 
known from the peculiarity of his costume, which 
was a suit of buckskin, with a little hatchet belted 
on behind him. He married a squaw, and removed 
with her when her tribe went west, by order of the 
United States Government. 

Martin Lewis, who settled on section one, built his 
house on the edge of the prairie, which was a visible 
land mark for some distance round, and especially 
serviceable as a lighthouse in the night for travelers 
crossing the prairie, who took the lights in his win- 
dows to enable them to take their bearings. 

In 1841, G. A. Spaulding, from Vermont, settled 
on section 3, on the old Indian camping ground near 
Token Creek. He built part of the house now occu- 



40 J: DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

pied by G. W. Loomis. lie kept a hotel there for a 
number of years, and by the aid of his worthy wife 
and estimable daughters, it was a favorite resort in its 
day. The bridge across the creek was built near the 
house, about two years afterwards, 18-43. lie also 
built the house now occupied by L. M. Fuller, who 
is a very useful man among his neighbors, having an 
intuitive ability to take hold of any mechanical work 
for repair or construction which may be given him. 

Messrs. Hanchett & Harris opened the first store 
in town at Token Creek in 1848. It was a small 
building, 14x18, with an upper chamber, and stood a 
little north of the present store. They occupied the 
ground floors, while Messrs. Davy & Robinson, two 
Englishmen from London, used the upper room as 
shoemakers, and were well known as good workmen. 
Mr. Davy had at one time been a sailor, and the 
constant custom of sleeping in a hammock had be- 
come so habitual to him, that he had one attached to 
the rafters of the room in which he slept. He had a 
taste for natural history, and for years had engaged 
himself in the preserving of flies, bugs and birds, of 
which he had large assorted specimens. Dr. R. K. 
Bell was the first physician in the town. He first 
lived at the Prairie House, but afterwards built a 
house at Token Creek. He was a young man of noble 
appearance, fine ability, and very successful in his 
profession; but he died young. 

In the south part of Windsor, near Token Creek, 
there is a large hill that is familiarly known as " Big 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 405 

Hill," and which in old times was looked upon as the 
lighthouse of the prairie, by which travelers were able 
to steer their course when crossing the open country. 
It was for many years their only way-mark and guide 
to find the harbor of Token Creek. 

Mr. Goodrich and Mr. E. C. Bullis were the first 
blacksmiths of any note, and were afterwards succeed- 
ed by M. C. Connor, who is still in Token Creek, but 
has for some time back retired from the forge. Mr. 
Bullis' house was moved from the south part of the 
town of Bristol to its present site, a distance of five 
miles, and is occupied by Mr. Connor. 

Selden Combs and brother at one time had a brick 
yard at the Creek, but it is not now in operation. When 
the war broke out, Capt. William A. Fields, who kept 
the hotel, raised a company for the war, and had them 
drilled in the village. [The first store in the village 
was built by John Douglas, who came here in the 
year 1847. He is a part owner in the mill, and is also 
engaged in surveying. It is related of him that at 
one time, while engaged surveying for a Norwegian, 
who could not speak or understand English, they 
came to an Indian wigwam, and it was a matter of 
astonishment to the Indians that Mr. Douglas and the 
Norwegian were compelled to understand each other 
by signs, as well as the Indians were them. Three 
nationalities were here represented, but the red man 
was as favorably situated as his more civilized bro- 
thers, since they could do no more than talk by signs. 
The compass which Mr. Douglas carried was a subject 



406 BANE COUNTY TOWNS — BUKKE. 

of great wonderment to them, as they kept turning it 
over to examine it. When elected to the office of 
superintendent of schools, he rode round the county 
on a black pony, that was too lazy to run away, and 
when he came to the school to be visited, if no con- 
venient hitching place was at hand, a rope carried in 
his saddle bags, Jacob's staff, that he carried with 
him, were made serviceable for the occasion, and the 
pony was staked on the prairie until again required. 
On one occasion, as justice, he married a couple 
under the shade of an oak tree, and who sat in their 
open baggy during the performance of the marriage 
service. It is reasonable to suppose that the couple 
were made happy, and though romantic like, yet in 
those early times it was more difficult to catch a jus- 
tice than to be caught by one.] 

The road by way of Token Creek was in old times 
very much traveled, as people passed through the vil- 
lage on their way to Fort Winnebago and the piner- 
ies. It was no uncommon thing to see five or six 
four-horse coaches pass each way in a day, and equally 
so to see a score of teams in sight. On one occasion, 
in the winter, a company of twenty- live teams passed 
through the village, and they enlivened the occasion 
by one of the occupants of the sleighs playing a vio- 
lin with his hands delicately encased in gloves. There 
were also, on another occasion, 200 head of cattle and 
thirty-seven teams, loaded, and on their way to the 
pineries. The manner of supplying the early setclers 
with cattle and horses was, for parties from the south 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUKKE. 407 

to start in the spring, when the grass was getting up, 
and drive before them droves of cattle and horses with 
bells round their necks, which enabled the drivers to 
hunt up any that strayed from the herd. 

Ezra Gould was an early settler on section 32. A 
painful incident is connected with his respected wife, 
who became blind by accidentally running against 
the sharp point of the spindle of a spinning wheel. 
She is now living at Belleville, and is a diligent and 
tidy housewife yet, even under her severe affliction. 

The farmers hauled their wheat to Milwaukee to 
market, and the small amount paid them for their 
grain very often brought them back in debt, unless 
they were fortunate in bringing back merchandise or 
immigrants. 

Deer were plenty, and seen in droves of from 25 to 
100. But the Indians at one time went out on a biff 
hunt, and drove the deer toward Fourth Lake, in the 
town of Westport, and killed over 500, which, to- 
gether with the continued shooting of them by the 
early settlers, has made their appearance scarce. Mr. 
II. P. Hall, for a number of years, kept a small deer 
park; but, four years ago, during a storm, his fence 
was blown down, and seven of the deer escaped, and 
are supposed to have bred in the woods, as three or 
four have been shot in the neighborhood. 

On the elevated prairie land owned by G. J. Mar- 
gerum and S. A. Cummings, there -was at one time a 
remarkably good race course. From this position a 
magnificent view is obtained of Madison and the sur- 



408 • DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUKKE. 

rounding country. The sporting men from Madison, 
as well as others in and out of the state, would 
gather at this course in large numbers, and witness 
many good horses try their speed and excellence in 
in equestrian display, even to rivalling Hiram Wood- 
ruff. When Kittie Miles, from Canada, ran a race 
here, she broke from the course and ran a dist- 
ance of two miles, to the barn of Adam Smith, and 
gave the race to her competitor, " Little Flea," from 
Long Island, New York. The celebrated trotter, 
Tobby was trained on this course. 

S. L. Sheldon, the well known agricultural machine 
dealer, settled here about 1854, on sections 32 and 33. 
He owned 150 acres — TO on section 32 and 80 on 33. 
There were only seventeen acres under the plow, forty 
heavy timber, while the balance had been at one time 
timbered like the forty, but was then thickly covered 
with an underbrush of from ten to twenty feet high. 
He afterwards added enough land to make his farm 
540 acres, and set out an orchard of over one thou- 
sand trees, put out about two miles of shade trees, and 
built about the same amount of fencing that year. 
The farm originally belonged to an early jnoneer by 
the name of West, and who, as a type of all of that 
class of persons, was unable to bear the inroads of civ- 
ilization, so, as his name indicates, he sold his farm 
and went West. 

Mr. S. taught school in the old log school house on 
his farm, which was one of the first district schools, 
but in 1855, having sold that part of it to Alex. 
Lisk, in the winter he taught in his own log cabin, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 409 

where he kept "bach," superintended the work of 
three hired men, did the housework, and sawed and 
split fire wood in the evening. He built the barn 
now owned by Samuel Drakely, on the southeast side 
of the road. In 1857, he started the selling of agri- 
cultural machinery, being the third person in the 
business in this county. The first was P. L. Car- 
man (of the firm of Gray and Carman), and the second 
James H. Hill, (of the firm of Davis and Hill), now 
engaged in the drug business on King street, Madi- 
son. His business, from this small beginning, has 
kept steadily increasing until he is now the largest 
individual dealer in agricultural machinery in the 
United States. From this increase, he was obliged to 
sell out his farm and confine himself entirely to busi- 
ness in the city and elsewhere, so that in 1 864 P. L. 
Carman and T. S. Phillip bought each a part of the 
540 acres. He expended about $10,000 in improve- 
ments and sold for $14,000, leaving 250 acres under 
the plow. A small portion of that farm was after- 
wards sold by P. L. Carman for $450 an acre, with- 
out any buildings on it. 

The first reaper trial in this section occurred on the 
farm of II. P. Hall, and between Mr. Porter, the rep- 
resentative of the McCormick, and S. L. Sheldon, of 
Seymour and Morgan, which last was the successful 
machine. 

An incident connected with the above trial is re- 
corded in regard to one of the agents who was exhib- 
iting the McCormick machine. He, at one time, had 
been engaged in business in the east, but suddenly 



410 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUKKE. 

disappeared from his accustomed quarters, and. was 
never heard of again. As the trial went on, Mr. 
Hall's father, who was visiting at that time, came 
out of the house to witness its progress. As he ap- 
proached one of the agents, the old gentleman was 
seen to be particularly scrutinizing of the personal ap- 
pearance of the man, and finally burst out with the 

exclamation: "Halloa! is that vou, Mr. ? 

When did you come out here?" No two men ever 
looked at each other with greater astonishment than 
they did, the one an extensive creditor of the absent- 
ing defaulter, and the other the veritable debit. It is 
needless to add that he also went west; at least he 
was mysteriously absent a second time. 

An illustration of a conscientious regard for the 
true meaning and intent of law is related of Mr. Shel- 
don. In 1857, he was elected assessor, and fulfilled 
the requirements of the office to the satisfaction of all 
concerned, and was again elected to fill the office. 
During this same year the legislature changed the old 
law so as to require the assessor to put in the land at 
its real value. He sacredly performed his duty, and 
the result showed a larger increase of taxes and a very 
large amount of dissatisfaction among the tax payers, 
and, though a very popular man in the town, the feel- 
ing against him for the proper discharge of his duty 
was such, that he could not have obtained a reelection 
to office at any price or under any consideration. 

Mr. Sheldon was one of the foremost men in every- 
thing pertaining to the interest of the town when he 



DANE COCKTY TOWNS BUEKE. 411 

was a resident of it, displaying the same zeal and 
energy which he has in his business calling, and, 
in his new home, is the leading incentive to all mod- 
ern improvements in agricultural machinery. 

P. L. Carman came to Wisconsin in 1847. He first 
located in Columbia county, while we were under the 
territorial form of government. In 1853 he removed 
to Madison, where, as dealer in grain and coal, and 
agricultural implements, he was known for many 
years, but for more than twenty years, and up to 1874, 
he was best known in Wisconsin and Minnesota as 
agent for the "Buffalo Pitts" Thresher. In August, 
1864, he purchased that portion of the Sheldon farm, 
in the town of Burke, on sections 32 and 33, which lay 
on the west side of the Sun Prairie road, containing 
about 260 acres. In the same month he divided the 
land and sold to Wm. F. Fitch about 120 acres, com- 
prising all the buildings and improvements, reserving 
the remaining 140 acres for a residence. He moved 
into the Sheldon house at once, and thus became a 
resident of the town of Burke, and commenced im- 
proving his place by breaking ground for a new 
dwelling on the first day of September, having 
bought, resold and made building contracts, all be- 
tween the 16th of August and the 1st of September, 
1874. A large and substantial brick dwelling house 
Avas completed and occupied by himself and family on 
the 10th day of December the same fall. The site 
selected for improvements, adjoined the Grover farm, 
and was covered with a thick growth of timber and 



412 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

underbrush. The buildings were located with great 
care, and the grounds laid out with a view of making 
a beautiful wooded lawn. By having the grounds 
laid out and plotted, and by working according to a 
settled plan, together with the expenditure of not a 
little persevering industry, he succeeded in making 
one of the pleasantest and most beautiful homes on 
the street. The one main feature of the place was the 
cool green lawn, containing some six or eight acres, 
surrounding the buildings shaded by its native trees, 
and added evergreens and shrubbery, and well-kept 
drives. 

This feature will be remembered by those who 
were in the habit of passing on their way to the city, 
some three miles distant. 

In 1873 he sold the place to J. C. McKenney, Esq., 
and removed to Madison. 

J. C. McKenney w T as the assistant United States 
Attorney at the time of the breaking up of the whis- 
ky ring, and successfully prosecuted that portion of 
the rino- which was tried in Madison. As the result 
of his success in the prosecution of these cases in 
Madison, he was employed by the government as a 
special attorney to conduct the prosecution of the 
cases of the same nature in Milwaukee. After the 
close of this engagement, he opened an office in Mil- 
waukee, for the general practice of law, where he is 
still engaged. His family lives upon the farm, which 
he still occupies as his home. 

The portion of the Sheldon farm bought by "Wm. F. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 413 

Fitch, stepson of the Hon. Judge Hood, was occupied 
by him early in the spring of 1865, and extensive im- 
provements commenced on the buildings and farm 
under the immediate supervision of 1ST. B. Van Slyke, 
Esq. It was occupied as a home by Judge Hood and 
family (together with that of Mr. Fitch), for a number 
of years, until Judge Hood became a permanent resi- 
dent in Washington. Mr. Fitch is now connected in 
an official capacity with the Chicago & North western 
Railway. 

Mr. H. N. Moulton has recently purchased the old 
Isaac Smith farm, on section 33, and has added con- 
siderable to the general appearance of the place, both 
internally and externally. Its proximity to the high- 
way makes it very observable, as also the addition of a 
neat bay window, that during the winter Mrs. Moulton 
had tastefully filled with house plants, whose blossoms 
in the cold, bleak months of winter, have gladdened 
both the eye and the heart, and made it a green spot 
in the memory of every passer-by. Mr. Moulton is en- 
gaged in business in the city, and drives to and from 
every morning and evening. 

"Where John Brigham lives, on section 32, there 
was at one time a good hotel. It was built and kept 
for a number of years by Eleazer G-rover, and was a 
well-known -resort for travelers. Bennet Britton also 
owned and kept a hotel on the farm at present owned 
by Gen. Harnden, which was also a desirable resort in 
old times. It now stands a little further back than 
it did formerly. Gen. Henry Harnden is perhaps not 



414: DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

usually known to have been the person who captured 
Jefferson Davis, when he appeared in his unmanly 
suit toward the close of the late rebellion. He was 
colonel of the First Wisconsin cavalry that pursued 
and overtook Davis, near Irwinville, Georgia. The 
facts of that remarkable capture are still fresh in the 
memory of our citizens, but the indefatigable endur- 
ance of the general and his brave men will never be 
fully known even from the lips of those who were 
participants in the long night and day rides which 
finally resulted in the capture of Davis. When taken 
prisoner, he expressed a great deal of contempt for 
the United States government, who were employing 
their troops, he said, to harass women and children, 
and pacing backward and forward in front of Gen. 
Harnden and his command, tried to assume an arrog- 
ance of speech which was significant of an effort to im- 
press persons with an idea of his importance, and also 
that he was not receiving the respect due to him, be- 
ing simply acknowledged as Mr. Davis. A lady of the 
partjf, said to be Mrs. Davis, sallied forth from one of 
the tents, and in an imploring and disturbed manner, 
expressed herself in the hearing of the soldiers that 
they must be careful not to irritate the president, as 
some of them might get hurt. 

Gen. Harnden bought this farm of Maj. Meredith, 
about four years ago, since, which, he has greatly im- 
proved it by rebuilding the fences, sinking a new well, 
putting up a wind mill, and building a tenement 
house. The farm is at present under a very high 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 415 

state of cultivation and consists of 200 acres. lie is 
engaged in breeding short-horn cattle. 

Maj. Meredith bought 80 acres of this farm from 
Capt. Albert Pierson, in 1S66, and, after tearing down 
the old Britton barn, he built a large new one, and 
afterwards added 120 acres more, which he bought of 
Mrs. Carpenter, the widow of the fo inner owner, who 
lived in Ohio. He conducted a general farming 
business, but being Superintendent of Public Prop- 
erty under Governors Fairchild and Washburne, did 
not give the attention to the farm that he otherwise 
would. The Major was among the first volunteers in 
the Second Regiment, and was First Lieutenant in 
Company H. He was wounded at the battle of Bui] 
Run of July 21, 1861, by which he lost the use of his 
arm. He was commissariat of General Pope's com- 
mand. 

" Cincinnati Heights," formerly known as " Rock 
Terrace," is the residence of J. M. Dickson, a retired 
capitalist, who has 300 acres under cultivation. He 
gave it the present name in honor of his former 
place of residence, Cincinnati. Nature has made it a 
lovely spot, and from here you have a grand view of 
Madison, with the Lakes on each side. In the dis- 
tance is the far-famed Blue Mounds, where memory 
recalls the place where the first settler lived, Ebenezer 
Brigham, who in those pioneer days, when he dug 
for lead, was obliged to carry it on his back to Min- 
eral Point, twenty miles distant, and return with his 
supplies in the same manner. The surroundings of 



416 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

this beautiful spot cannot be penned; they must be 
seen. 

The first proprietors of the " Heights," were John 
Tweed and J. Y. Bobbins, but shortly afterwards 
Robbins bought out Tweed, and became sole owner. 
He took a great interest in the raising of stock of the 
very best; buying only premium cattle wherever he 
had an opportunity, and keeping nothing but the 
best swine, cows, and horses. He was the occasion of 
of the great impetus given to the surrounding country 
in the raising of pure stock. An extensive nursery 
was also carried on by him, under the able superin- 
tendence of the late L. P. Chandler, who was for 
many years foreman with the Hon. Marshall P. 
Wilder. 

An idea may be given of the extensiveness of Mr. 
Robbins' farm, when it is stated that the Hons. J. J. 
Crittenden and Thomas P. Marshall of Kentucky 
(when in Madison during one of the political cam- 
paigns) were the guests of Mr. Robbins, and on 
being escorted by the Governor's Guards out to his 
residence, he received them with a greater number 
of his employes than the whole military company, 
besides the display of flags and emblems were larger 
than had been made at Madison. 

Being a great admirer of the late Hon. Stephen 
A. Douglas, he made a cheese that weighed 1,620 
pounds, that was exhibited at our State Fair in 1860, 
but which he intended presenting to Douglas the 
same year, if he became the successful candidate for 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 417 

president of the United States. He did not get 
elected, so the cheese was reluctantly cut up and 
distributed among a number of Mr. Bobbins friends, 
who pronounced it a first class article. To make the 
cheese Mr. Robbins had his teams scattered over the 
town solicting milk from the other farmers, whose 
contributions he paid for. 

The farm now "owned by H. P. Hall, on sections 20, 
21,28 and 33, embraces, with other purchases, the 
farm once owned by Vm. F. Porter, Esq., who put 
up many of the buildings. Mr. Hall has since made 
extensive improvements, adding greatly to the num- 
ber and extent of the buildings. He has a large dairy 
and furnishes milk to the citizens of Madison. The 
farm is known as the " Orchard Farm " for the reason 
that there were once 2,600 apple and fruit trees on the 
land. There are now about 1,600 apple trees of hardy 
varieties in thriving condition, many of the tender 
varieties of apples, pears, plum and cherry trees hav- 
ing proved too tender for this climate. This is per- 
haps the largest orchard farm in the county. 

This farm embraces some 66S acres of fine land, well 
proportioned for profit and convenience, abundantly 
supplied with wood and water, and has most likely, 
the finest and most complete set of farm buildings in 
this section of the country. There are five dwelling- 
houses, five large barns with stables, ice house, observ- 
atory, etc. The basement used for cows is of solid 
masonry, 60 by 120 feet. Water is conducted from 
tanks to parts of the buildings and adjacent fields, 
27 



418 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 

with a constant supply for over 200 head of stock. 
In the summer of 1858 Mr. II. made some seven miles 
of ditch, the main one being 8 feet wide, 4 feet deep 
and 3-§- miles in length, to improve a large meadow 
which was unprofitable, the neighbors expressing 
their pity for the waste of money, and folly of the 
Yankee farmer. It may be interesting to know that 
that portion of the farm, some 340 acres, has become 
firm land, bearing heavy grass, and for years been 
adapted to the use of machinery and suitable for 
driving upon with horse and carriage at all seasons of 
the year. The drainage has been followed up where 
needed, till within a few years, and is now complete. 
The main house stands off the road with a beau- 
tiful lawn of two acres in front, surrounded in part 
by a magnificent circle of evergreens, which are some 
thirty to forty feet high, and form a shaded drive- 
way, which for magnificence is hard to excel, even in 
older or wealthier portions of our country. The views 
from parts of the farm are extensive and charming, 
embracing views of Madison, the lakes, asylum and 
Blue Mounds. This farm was entered for premium 
farm in 1S60, and though then in a crude condition, 
the committee of the Wisconsin State Agricultural 
Society, made the following mention: 

This farm has every variety of land necessary to make an ex- 
cellent gram and stock farm. These superior natural advantages 

are being well improved by Mr. Hall It is but four years since 

this entire farm was in a state of nature. We find the buildings all 
in excellent condition, comprising every convenience of an old New 
England farm that has been improved a hundred years He 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 419 

depends upon no one tiling' to make his farm profitable, but is de- 
veloping each branch of agriculture with zeal, system and apparent 
success. His horses are good, substantial animals, without running 
specially to fancy; his cattle are all good, and means are being 
used for their improvement, .... and everything is kept in a man- 
ner that indicates good skill and economy in his operations He 

is doing a noble work in reclaiming a marsh on the back part of his 

farm There can be but little doubt but land that a year or two 

ago was so wet that it was useless, will be made the most vain aide 
on his farm. W. S. A. T., pp. 146-7, 1860. 

As hioji as 13J- bushels of wheat have been raised 
on an acre of land, and 138 bushels of corn, under 
most favorable seasons and circumstances. Mr. Hall 
being one of the executive committee for a number 
of years afterwards, was of course precluded from 
making a contest for a premium a second time. 

The amount of capital invested in this farm is an 
exhibit, not only of the great confidence and faith 
which Mr. Hall has had in the rich and prolific bearing 
of the soil, but of that stability of aim which has had 
the power and the will to make even the sterile lands 
subservient to his purposes. There has been expend- 
ed in the way of improvements over $70,000, an 
amount that would (in proportion to what is deemed 
certain investments in commercial circles) startle and 
amaze many. The tact of managing his farm and 
hired help is Avell worth imitation by all who find that 
their bane is poor help. He is particular in his first 
agreement with his hands, so that no misunderstand- 
ing may occur by which either party may be disap- 
pointed in their expectations; and then he is also in 
sympathy with them because of a rule he has of not 



420 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUBKE. 

asking too much, knowing that human endurance has 
a limit both physically and morally. He requires no 
extra labor, however trivial, that is not compensated 
by its equivalent in pay. There are over thirty souls 
that live and are dependent on the labors of this farm. 

When the bustle and hurry of spring, summer and 
fall work have somewhat relieved the constant friction 
of their bearing on the hired help, Mr. Hall gives 
them a social entertainment, in which they have 
music, together with a choice selection of the crea- 
ture comforts. On one occasion the Madison brass 
band resolved to compliment Mr. H. and family by a 
serenade, and engaged an express wagon to carry them 
out to his house. After discoursing some of their 
sweet strains, the hospitalities of the house were kind- 
ly proffered them. The teamster having delivered 
his charge, tied his horses in a convenient place, and 
prepared for a night's frolic. As the hours moved on, 
the horses became restive and finally broke loose and 
ran away. "When informed by some one of the fact, 
the driver, who was of Teutonic origin, came rushing 
out in an excited state, addressed every one he met 
with the exclamation: " "Who tie mv horse loose ! 
Who tie my horse loose f " The horees were after- 
wards found tied loose, about two miles distant on 
the Token Creek road. 

Mr. Geo. J. Margerum, lately of Youngstown, Ohio, 
has bought the farm, on section 22, formerly owned by 
II. P. Hall, and now known as " Fairview Farm," 
and has made some very extensive changes there. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BUKKE. 421 

The improvements are of a superior character and he 
seems to take advantage of his opportunities, as may 
be seen by the neat and useful observatory he has 
constructed; in putting his windmill to a double 
purpose. The frame is boxed in with wood, and neatly 
painted, while inside a stair is built with conveni- 
ent platforms at each alternate angle, which leads 
to the top, and from which a commanding and pleas- 
sing view is obtained of the rich and beautiful fields, 
all over the country; the churches of Sun Prairie, 
the Blue Mounds in the distance, towns of West- 
port, Springfield, Dane, Vienna, "Windsor, are all set 
out before the eye in panoramic beauty, while Madi- 
son, with its surroundings, lies in queenly grandeur in 
the sunlight of her magnificient lakes. Mr. Margerum 
intends adding still further to the conveniences of the 
tower inside and out. He has made some purchases 
of choice horses, cattie and sheep, and purposes engag- 
ing in the raising of stock, having prepared his large 
barn $nd other buildings for that object. 

Mr. Robert Ogilvie, the present owner of the '76 
farm on section — , is engaged in raising pure breed 
Clydesdale horses. His farm is still kept under good 
cultivation, although he is much occupied with his 
business in the city of Madison. He has concen- 
trated a great deal of attention in the raising of pure 
stock, but more especially horses. That our readers 
may have some conception of the character of these 
horses, we herewith submit a description of them, 
showing their breeding and pedigree: 



422 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — EUKKE. 

"Marquis of Lorne," two years old, and will now weigh 
over 1,600 pounds, and from the time he was a foal by his mother's 
side up to the present, he has never failed to carry away the first 
honors in any ring wherever shown, at the many state and comity 
fairs he has attended. 

"Robbie Burns " is a powerful brown horse seven years old, 
stands 1G}4 hands high and weighs over 2,000 pounds, on remark- 
able good legs, great bone and .substance, combined with superior 
action and good temper. He is pronounced the most perfect model 
of a Clydesdale horse in Scotland or America, lie was bred by 
Mr. Wilson Brittlebog, Kilburnie (Scotland) and sired by Rabbie 
Burns, the property of Mr. Clark, Manswraes, Kdburchan. His 
dam was also one of the successful mares that carried off the prizes 
at several of the local fairs in her district. Robbie Burns was first 
exhibited at the great horse show in Milwaukee, and took second in 
his class and second in sweepstakes, being beaten in both only by 
the farfamed "Donald 01111116.' ' He took first prizes hi Quincy, 
111., and first at the great horse fair hi St. Louis, which has ever 
been regarded as the largest and most prominent agricultural fair 
held on this continent. 

" Duke of Buocleuch," one year old, a worthy Son of the fam- 
ous Donald Dimiie. who won the international medal at the Centen- 
nial Exhibition hi Philadelphia last year. 

" Princess," a pure bred hn ported Clylepdale mare, six years old, 
weighing over 1,900 pounds, and has been a first prize winner at 
every fair where she has been shown since her importation to this 
country. 

"Gypsy Queen," five years old; another pure bred, imported 
Clydesdale mare, who took first in her class two years ago at the 
great horse show at St. Louis, 

In addition to the above, Mr. Ogilvie has many 
other valuable horses, which undoubtedly place his 
entire stock superior to any other in this state. There 
are other specialities here, apart from his horses; in 
the way of good hogs and cattle. The hogs are par- 
ticularly good, being first prize and sweepstakes 
winners at our state and county fairs; they are the 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 423 

justly famous Berkshire breed, now so popular among 
the first feeders and breeders of the present day. The 
cattle are pure bred and graded short horns, and like 
everything else on the farm, are not to be surpassed 
anywhere. 

There is a spring on the farm that is known as the 
head of the " Clyde Creek " which flows in a south- 
westerly direction, through the town of Blooming 
Grove into Third lake. Philo Dunning for some 
years had a saw mill on the stream, at a place which 
was known by some as "Millwood." 

Mr. Henry G ilman owns a fine large farm of 400 
acres, on section 22, known as " Hill Side " farm. 
It was at one time owned by J. V. Robbing, who 
put a very extensive and expensive lot of buildings 
on it, and called them the "farm-house," but which 
were accidentally destroyed by fire, when owned by 
Dexter Curtis. The thorough and extensive improve- 
ments which Mr. Gilman has made, rank with the 
leading farms in town. He has rebuilt a portion of 
the barns, refitted the elegant white brick house, situa- 
ted a few rods from the road, beautifully surrounded 
with evergreens, and is devoting himself entirely to 
the raising of stock. He is at present engaged in 
erecting a barn on the old site of the famous Robbins 
barn, which was the most complete building for that 
purpose in the state. The new barn will measure 
fifty by one hundred feet, and is intended as a rival 
to its predecessor. The well arranged conveniences 
which surround his farm are not surpassed by any 



421 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

other in the county, and he is making it his object 
to spare neither labor nor money in making it a 
model farm in every particular. There are two cis- 
terns, one of which holds 1,500 and the other 1 ,000 
barrels of water, that are in themselves sufficient to 
house both flocks and herds. He has a convenient 
platform scale in front of his farm, for the use of 
himself and neighbors, in weighing hay and cattle. 
His wells are thirty feet deep in the soil, and then 
drilled through rock the same distance. While the 
workmen were engaged drilling, they struck a vein 
of water that precipitated the drill eighteen inches 
down, and an endless flow of water at any season and 
under all circumstances was the result. 

Mr. Gilman is a son of Gen. John C. Gilman-, of 
Water town, one of the oldest pioneer settlers of the 
state. He and Tim. Johnson were the first to settle 
in Watertown, having come in the winter of 1836. 
In the spring of 1817 he was engaged to locate the 
school lands in the Mineral Point district, and em- 
ployed John Douglas as surveyor, to assist him. On 
the discovery of gold in California, the General im- 
migrated there, and remaining a few years returned 
home, then started for Pike's Peak, and afterwards to 
Montana, where he died in 1869. Soon after the 
selection of the land for school purposes, and imme- 
diately at the conclusion of the Mexican war, he, in 
consequence of his acquaintance with the land, lo- 
cated a large number of pieces for those who held land 
warrants, and at the same time located three quarter 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUEKE. 425 

sections for himself, in the town of Vienna, which 
he afterwards bought and sold to his son Henry, who 
broke up the land and farmed it for some years, but 
selling out, went into the mercantile business in the 
village of Sun Prairie, his chief object being to secure 
better opportunities for educating his children. Hav- 
ing a good chance to dispose of this business, he sold 
and bought his present location, the Robbins farm. 
He has again entered business in Sun Prairie, being a 
partner in the firm of Gilman, Moak and Weigan. 

Near the back of his house there is a knoll that 
is said to be the highest point of land in the town, 
and which Mr. Robbins, when he owned the farm, 
was undecided whether to build there or on " Cincin- 
nati Heights." The view from here is equally inten- 
sifying in grandeur to that of the others, and with 
surrounding fields spread round the knoll, is sugges- 
tive of the times when chiefs assembled their follow- 
ers around some such eminence for the purpose of 
harranguing them. A host could be gathered round 
this spot, and their leader's every gesture and word 
seen and heard with distinctness. On the opposite 
side of the highway, there is a portion of land that 
looks like a twin sister to this knoll, and may at one 
time have been part of it. It is on Mr. Margerum's 
farm, and has been opened and excellent stone ob- 
tained for building purposes. 

Doctor Wightman and Mr. Damon were the first 
owners of the farm now owned by La Fayette Stow, on 
section 23. Mr. Stow has moved the double house 



426 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

farther from the road, to a more convenient and pleas- 
anter place, and built a line, large barn, with a stone 
basement. 

On the road between sections 21 and 22, there is a hill 
known as " Norwegian Hill " (named so because a num- 
ber of citizens of that nationality reside near there). 
It has lately been graded and greatly improved. On 
the top of this hill, N. B. Yan Slyke, Esq., has a fine 
farm with a good view of the city in the distance. 

Ensign hill, on section 10, is well known as one of 
the places where a good view of the county can be 
obtained. It is called Ensign hill, because a gentle- 
man of that name owned the farm on this section. It 
is noted for its cold exposure in winter, so that a 
common expression among the neighbors is to say, 
"as cold as Ensign hill." 

Some of the early settlers are, Mr. Dailey, on sec- 
tion 33, Gardner Cotrell on 23, A. D. Goodrich on 9, 
F. II. Talcott On 15, James Sullivan and H. D. Good- 
enow on 34, C. M. Nichols and George Nichols on 36, 
Thomas Itathbim on 11, Thomas Sandon and J. P. 
AV. Hill on 5, Martin Lewis on 1, S. W. Thompson 
on 12, Torkel Gulekson and Guilder Olson on 24. 

The farm of Sidney II. Hall comprises one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of prairie and opening. It is 
pleasantly situated, and affords a fine view of Madi- 
son and the lakes. Brought under cultivatian in 1857, 
it was originally a grain farm, but at present is de- 
voted to market gardening, and is also the home of a 
herd of Alderney cattle. An orchard of 500 trees and 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 427 

a well 130 feet deep are the principal attractions of 
the place. From the bottom of this well may always 
be heard the rippling of an unseen spring. One of 
the earliest windmills in the country was set up over 
this well. 

The farm of Adam Smith comprises 520 acres, on 
sections 13 and 14, and is beautifully situated. It is 
part prairie, oak openings and meadow lands, and the 
house is acknowledged to be the most complete in the 
county. He came west in 1837, and was one of those 
who worked on the capitol, and afterward purchased 
the interest of Pineo, the " shingle weaver,'' and made 
shingles for the capitol contractors. He kept tavern on 
his present farm for twenty-eight years, and was the 
first that staked out the road between Token Creek 
road and Sun Prairie. He also assisted in laying- 
out the one between Cottage Grove and the Creek. 
"When he kept tavern, his house was much fretpuented, 
and many social gatherings were held there that recall 
pleasant recollections among many early settlers. 

As justice of the peace, he sometimes made the law 
subservient to the circumstances of the case. A thief 
was once caused to pay the penalty of his crime by 
walking through the slush roads back to the place he 
committed the depredation, and after suitable apology 
and a reprimand, was set at liberty; while on another 
occasion, he threatened to chastise two clients that 
would not, at his suggestion, come to an amicable set- 
tlement. Many and singular samples of humanity 
put up at his tavern, and if unable to pay, a candid 



428 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BURKE. 

acknowledgment of the fact was sufficient for him, but 
it sometimes happened that an impostor would try to 
take advantage of the landlord's generous hospitality. 
A man of considerable physical power once took 
breakfast there, and refused to pay because he had no 
money. Mr. Smith seemed to doubt him, when the 
fellow, seemingly conscious of his physical superiority, 
boldly walked off. He was pursued by Mr. Smith, 
and after a desperate struggle brought back, when 
$300 in gold was found tied securely round his waist. 
He was made to pay for his breakfast, and also, as Mr. 
Smith called it, the legal expenses of bringing him 
back. 

Mr. Smith was considered a dead shot with the 
rifle. The elk horns that were exhibited for so many 
years at Kodermund's brewery were supposed to be 
the results of his rifle. 

The grist mill on section 5 was commenced in 1849 
by David C. Butterfield, a peculiar and eccentric man, 
that in early times did some trading with the Indians. 
He did not complete the mill, but Rasdall and Loomis 
bought and finished it, and it is still in operation and 
a great convenience to the surrounding country. Ras- 
dall was an old pioneer settler and Indian trader, and 
was one of the spy scouts in the Black Hawk war. 
He was accidentally killed by getting into the gearing 
of the mill. 

Douglas and Parfey built and owned the grist mill 
in the south part of Windsor, at Token Creek, and 
soon after Mr. Douglas became sole proprietor. It 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BUKKE. 429 

was badly constructed at first, so that new wheels and 
gearing had to be put in and the dam thoroughly re- 
paired, making it an expensive investment to the then 
owner. He now has a half interest it. 

At Token Creek, in Windsor, near the line, there is 
a number of springs which are now being success- 
fully used by Ellis Lawrence as a fish hatchery. He 
has made two ponds, and has about fifteen hundred 
trout in them. It promises to be an excellent spot 
for the purpose he is now engaged in developing. 

Abner Cady built the first brick house in the town, 
on section 16, the brick of which he made himself. 
It is now occupied by Hermon Olson. 

David Grafton, a veterinary surgeon, who lives on 
section 3, has a far-famed reputation for his profes- 
sional skill in the treatment of the diseases of all 
kinds of Cattle and horses, the latter more especially, 
and is much sought after amono; those needing his 
attention. He is a man of remarkably generous im- 
pulses, and for which he is even more highly esteemed 
than he is professionally. "Uncle David," as he is 
familiarly and affectionately called, has a heart too 
large to be measured by the world's narrow guage. 
No neighbor ever feels the sharp shaft of sorrow, that 
does not find in him a soothing and helpful friend in 
need; and no wayfarer ever passes his house whose 
wants are not bountifully supplied, and he set on his 
way rejoicing. He is a man of upwards of seventy 
years, but yet is so hale and hearty, that he bids fair 
to outlive many of his juniors. It will be a dark day 



■430 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BUKKE. 

to the town when it shall he known that the "golden 
bowl is broken, and the silver cord loosed," and "Un- 
cle David'' gone to his long home. 

The first and only church is on section 15, with a 
cemetery attached. It belongs to the Norwegian 
Lutherans. There is a Grange Hall on section 23, 
and nine public school houses and eleven school dis- 
tricts, including joint districts. The track of Madi- 
son and Portage Hailroad passes through the western 
part of the town, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. 
Paul on the southeast, and the Northwestern, the 
southwest corner. 

There are cemetery grounds on sections 14 and 26. 

That part of the road leading out to the Insane 
Asylum, from Madison, passes over a part of the west- 
ern line of the town, and is familiarly known as Sugar 
Bush grove, from the number of maple trees growing 
there. It is the leading road to the Asylum, and 
also to several of the towns north of Burke. 

The town is near the city of Madison, and one of 
the principal thoroughfares from the city is a leading 
artery through the town of Burke to several of the 
towns in the county, and is known as the "Sun Prairie 
road." It is directly in a line with the State capital 
in a northeastern direction. It was at one time part 
of the old military road to Green Bay. That portion 
of the road lying nearest the city was for years a 
source of trouble to the citizens, in consequence of 
the marshy character of the ground leading over the 
creek, and impassible in spring or wet weather. Mr. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BURKE. 431 

II. P. Hall agreed with a number of the citizens to 
fill up the marsh provided they would contribute to- 
ward the expense. The work was clone, and is now 
one of the best parts of the road. 

Mr. S. A. Cummings is recently from Massachus- 
sets, and has bought what is known as the "Floral 
Hill" farm, and is engaged in general farming. 

David Prindle was an early settler on section 26, 
and was, before he died, the oldest man in town. He 
died at about ninety years of age. 

Washington Woodward, on sec. 11, has some fast 
horses which lately carried off the prize at Stoughton. 

C. G. Lewis, son of Martin Lewis, and brother of 
H. M. Lewis, attorney, Madison, has a fine farm on 
section one. The road here is beautifully situated for 
a drive, and those having fast horses often use the 
street as a place to try their speed. The old gentle- 
man is about eighty years of age, and drives the cows 
to the pasture like a youngster. 

Judge L. B. Yilas owns nearly all of section 36, 
on which there are some springs that have mineral 
properties of a medicinal character in them. 

The soil is good for grain and stock raising, while 
water is both good and plenty. Some of the best 
farms, best buildings and modern improvements are 
to be found in this town, and with its location and 
numerous advantages will be ranked among the best 
in the state. The people are of an enterprising, steady 
character, made up of several nationalities, and noted 
for a development of a thorough knowledge of agri- 
cultural pursuits in all its bearings. 



432 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DEEKFIELD. 



DEERFIELD. 

BY K. O. HEIMDAL. 

Tins town is the third from the north and south, in 
the eastern tier of towns in the county, occupying the 
whole of township No. 7, range No. 12 east, and was 
set off from Cottage Grove, which bounds it on the 
west; and organized as a separate town in 1849. The 
first town meeting was held April 3, the same year, at 
the house of D. R. Hyer, and thirty-five votes were 
polled, and the following officers were elected: Allan 
E. Adsit, chairman; Emery Sampson and George 
R. Fryer, supervisors; II. L. Foster, town clerk; 
Benjamin Potter, treasurer; and Martin W. Adsit, 
assessor. 

Previous to, and during the early settlement, deer 
were very plenty, and when the sleighing was good, 
it was a favorite method to hunt with teams, and 
generally with good success, and so it was suggested 
that the town should be called Deerfield. 

The first house put up in this town was on section 
18, on the road from Madison to Milwaukee, by 
Philip Kearney. The work on the house was done by 
Judge N. F. Hyer and others. It was intended for a 
half-way house between Madison and Aztalan, and 
is said to have been occupied only a short time; but 
by whom, we have been unable to ascertain. The house 
was built in the summer of 1839, soon after those long 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DEERFIELD. 433 

corduroy bridges were finished across the marshes, in 
the eastern part of the town. The lumber for this 
house was drawn from Lake Mills, by B. Ingraham, 
who afterwards settled in the town ; but not having a 
permanent occupant, it was in a short time ruined, 
and carried off piecemeal. 

Judge Hyer, one of the oldest settlers, has cour- 
teously furnished the following exceedingly interest- 
ing letter, which we quote in full, and wish he had 
given us a still further resume of his early Wiscon- 
sin history. He resided in Wisconsin from 1836 un- 
til 1849, when he left for the South, on account of ill 
health, residing most of the time in New Orleans. 
He still continues to cherish a deep interest in every- 
thing that relates to the settlement of Wisconsin, both 
past and present. He writes: 

In the fall of 1837, Capt. Stansbury, with Lieuts. J. D. Webster 
and Charles Hagner, of the U. S. Engineer Department, came to 
Milwaukee for the purpose of expending an appropriation by the 
government in making a road from Milwaukee to Madison, on the 
most direct and practicable route. They being unacquainted with 
the country, Capt. Stansbury sent for me, then residing at Aztalan, 
to come and pilot them through, which I did. On arriving at Az- 
talan and finding comfortable accommodations at the house of 
Thomas Brayton, Esq., who had recently arrived, and discovering 
it to be very impracticable to ride through on the route to Madi- 
son, on account of the impassable marshes, I was employed to 
make the survey through, which I did, but not without some 
suffering,' as there was some nine miles of the way so surrounded 
with marsh that it was impossible to get on with team or pack 
horse, so we had to take on our backs the tent, camp equipage, pro- 
visions, etc. The day was cold, and we had to wade streams and 
marshes, and, before reaching the point selected for camping, my 
pantaloons became frozen to my boots, my boots to my stockings, and 
28 



434 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — DEERFIELD. 

stockings to my feet, and my feet, as a matter of course, became 
somewhat cold, but the sensation was rather that of pain than cold. 
We soon had a rousing fire; I cut the boots from my feet, and 
spent most of the night in making moccasins for use the next day. 
My assistants did not appear to suffer so much. We soon found 
ourselves tolerably comfortable, and, after partaking of a hearty 
meal, hastily cooked, began to feel quite well again, and turned in 
for the night, but soon the sensation of thirst came upon us, when 
we realized the fact that we had not with us a pad or bucket to get 
water from the stream (Koshkonong creek) which was near by. One 
offered to go and get the water, if he had anything to bring it in; 
another offered his boots for buckets; this being the best we could 
do under the circumstances, was adopted, and we were thus enabled 
to quench our thirst. The next day we succeeded in readiing Madison. 

"Why the Half-way House was built: 

The next season, in October, 1839, Philip Kearney, a gentleman 
residing in the city of New York, father of Gen. Phil. Kearney, of 
the U. S. army, who was killed in the rebellion, sent his nephew 
P. J. Kearney with an introductory letter requesting me to assist hi 
Locating some land in Wisconsin. I started with him for Madison, 
on his way to Mineral Point, where the Land Office was then kept. 
Our new road not being then opened, we went by way of Sun 
Prairie, where lived three brothers, by the name of Lawrence, in a 
small cabin, who entertained travelers as well as they could; there 
we arrived about one o'clock, tired and hungry; we wanted our 
horses fed and dinner for ourselves. We succeeded hi getting feed 
for our horses, but for ourselves they had nothing but one wild 
goose; nothing to cook him with, and nothing to eat with him 
when cooked. Mr. K. wanted him roasted; so a fire was made, and 
the goose strung up for roasting. Those who have not watched the 
slow roasting of a turkey or goose, when very hungry, cannot realize 
our condition while watching and waiting for that goose. Mr. K. 
at length becoming impatient, asked me if 1 woidd not select a 
place on our new road about half way between Aztalan and Madi- 
son and have a double log house built where travelers could be ac- 
commodated. I told him I would, and did; and that is the way the 
first house in Deerfield was built. Mr. Philip Kearney paid for the 
land and the house. 

It now occurs to me that of twenty men, including the three gov- 
ernment engineers, assisting in making that survey, none are left 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DEEEFIELD. 435 

save Levi. P. Drake and John Starkweather, of Madison, and your 
humble servant, Nath. F. Hyeh. 

The bridges or causeways mentioned above were 
built for the purpose of facilitating the travel across 
the marshes by the several stages, whose route lay 
through the town, and was done by the filling up of 
the marsh with every kind of brush and waste ma- 
terial found near by, and then large logs felled and 
laid across. In the wet season it frequently happened 
that the stages would drive over these causeways, 
with the water nearly up to the wheel hubs. The 
changes incident to the cultivation of the soil have 
materially affected these roads for the better, and they 
are now dry and substantial. 

The first settlers in this town were Norwegians, and 
and the first Nels Siverson. He settled on section 
35, and built a cabin in the spring of 1840. Tie is still 
living, but resides in Minnesota. In 1842, his brother 
Ole Siverson, settled on section 33, where he still con- 
tinues to live. Lars Davidson settled on section 28, 
the same year, and is still in the town. In June, 1843, 
Colben Olson and his brother, Stork Olson, settled on 
section 30, and still continues to reside there; and 
about the same time, B. Ingraham and David T£. 
Hyer, the first two Americans in the town, located 
together on section 9, where the village of Deerfield 
now is, built a tavern, which they conducted for some 
years, and then dissolved partnership, Mr. Hyer be- 
coming the proprietor. For a number of years, it 
was the relay house for the old Milwaukee, Janesville, 



436 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DEERFIELD. 

Columbus and Madison four-horse stage, where fresh 
horses were exchanged going or returning, until the 
Chicago, Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad 
supplied their more expeditious route. The supplies 
for the stages were bought and kept here, the oats 
and hay being obtained from the surrounding farm- 
ers, and purchased by Mr. Iiyer. Many a jolly load 
of passengers stopped at Ilyer's for refreshments, and 
during the session of the legislature extra coaches had 
sometimes to be sent out, which made lively times for 
the tavern keepers. Mr. Hyer was the first postmas- 
ter in the town, and held the office as long as he lived 
here. He now resides in the town of Springfield, and 
has furnished us the following facts, which we feel 
certain are but as a drop, compared with the numer- 
ous incidents which he must have witnessed and 
known when he was mine host of the Relay tavern : 

About the 1st of August, 1842, I commenced with a force of ten 
men to build a log house on Sec. 9, T. 7, R. 12 E. (now Deerfield), 
for the purpose of keeping a tavern for the accommodation of trav- 
elers, who were daily increasing in numbers, and within three weeks 
completed a substantial building, with six rooms. One night, du- 
ring our stay, we were much annoyed by wolves, who had caught a 
deer and devoured it within a few rods from our encampment, 
small remains of which were found scattered about in the morn- 
ing. At another time, they made an attack on our cattle, that were 
feeding near by, and caused a great commotion among them ; they 
bellowed and ran together, the same as they do when they smell 
the blood of any of their number slain. None were killed, but many 
of them showed the marks of the teeth and claws of the wolves. 

Soon after completing my log house I removed therein, and was 
appointed postmaster, and the place was duly christened "Deer- 
field." I built my stables for the accommodation of forty or more 
horses, and made additions to my house as occasion required, until 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — DEERFIELD. 437 

the ground floor covered a space of 44 by 74 feet, and could conven- 
iently accommodate forty or more persons with lodging-; and a 
dancing hall 32 by 25 ieet, where parties, often from a distance of 
twenty-five miles, came for recreation. 

In addition to the mail route from Milwaukee to Madison, a new 
route was soon established from Janesville to Columbus, with two- 
horse coaches, via Deerfield. The staging on the Milwaukee and 
Madison hue increased to two daily post coaches, and often two or 
three extras, and the demand for oats to feed teams, purchased and 
furnished by me, amounted to from 5,000 to 7,000 bushels annually 
for five years. The oats were all raised witliin a radius of ten miles 
of my house. This much was accomplished about fifteen years from 
the first survey through the wilderness. 

The settlers spoken of were only the beginning of 
more extensive immigration. Lars Torgerson settled 
here in 1842, and still remains. Charles and Martin 
Adsits settled in 1845, while Allan E. Adsits and 
family came in 1846. For four or five years after the 
first settlement, the town increased in population very 
rapidly, and has continued to do so up to the present. 
In 1875, when the census was taken, the population in 
the town was 906, the largest proportion of which 
were of foreign birth, such as Norwegians, Germans 
and Irish. 

The only streams of any importance are Koshkonong 
and Mud creeks. The first named enters the town on 
section 19, and flows easterly into the large expanse 
of water known as Krogh's Mill Pond, which covers 
a portion of sections 13, 14, 15, 22, 23 and 24, leav- 
ing the town on the last section. The pond has been 
the source of litigation between the mill-owner and 
the property owners on the edge of the pond, in con- 
sequence of the large amount of land submerged. The 



438 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DEERFIELD. 

current is very slow on this stream, so that it gives no 
water-] lower in the town, though over the line in Jef- 
ferson county there is a mill privilege. Mud Creek 
enters on section 34, and empties into the pond on 
section 27. 

The surface of this town is gently undulating. A 
portion of Liberty Prairie, lying within the south- 
western part, is included within its boundaries. The 
southeastern part of the town is prairie and openings, 
the northwestern part, bare openings; and the north- 
east part, heavy timber, with more or less marsh. 
This timber land was entered by the early settlers in 
the adjoining towns for timber lots; but as it is now cut 
off, the land is cleared for agricultural purposes. We 
have, in the southwestern part, excellent stone quar- 
ries, both limestone and sandstone. 

Some years ago, there was a saw-mill built on sec- 
tion 20, by Mr. Thompson and Mr. Knudson; but just 
as it was ready to run, the dam broke, and it was 
never repaired, as the country being extremely level, 
the damage caused by overflowing was very great. 

Along these streams are excellent hay marshes, as 
good as any in the county. In the northeastern part 
of the town, some of the marshes will, in course of 
time, be valuable for the cultivation of cranberries. In 
this part of the town there is a large pond, which is 
called " Goose Pond," from the great number of these 
birds frequenting here. Hunters find abundance of 
duck also, and in the fall of the year it is very much 
patronized. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DEERFIELD. 439 

In educational matters, we have achieved very satis- 
factory results. We have five good schoolhouses, 
a number of joint-districts, and some private schools. 
There are in the town three churches, one Lutheran, 
Rev. J. A. Ottesen, pastor; one Evangelical Luth- 
eran, Rev. Rasmus O. Hill, pastor; and the other, 
Roman Catholic, Rev. Father Maher. Each one have 
regular service performed by their respective pastors. 

There are two postofhces in town, one in the vil- 
lage of Deerfield, Henry Bennett, postmaster; and the 
other at Nora, near the stone church, on Liberty 
Prairie, Andrew A. Prescott, postmaster; mail tri- 
weekly. In the village there is one store kept by 
Charles Mayer; two blacksmiths shops kept by H. 
Bennett and Mr. Seeley; and a good hotel kept by 
Mr. Benj. Baldwin. 

For years, wheat has been the principal crop raised, 
but of late, our best farmers have engaged more in 
w r hat is called mixed farming, raising of stock, and 
seeding down their land. In 1876, the acreage of 
the different kinds of crops was as follows: Timothy 
and clover, 227 acres; wheat, 2,710; oats, 1,078; corn, 
1,015; barley, 1,387; rye, 91; hops, 21; tobacco, 30. 

The facilities for marketing our produce in this 
town are, on the whole, quite convenient. Marshall 
and Waterloo are on the north, Jefferson and Fort At- 
kinson on the east; S tough ton and McFarland on the 
south and west, so that if we have no railroads, we 
have the consolation that we have ready access to 
market. The town has no bonded indebtedness. 



440 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CKOSS PLAINS. 



CROSS PLAINS. 

BY HENRY WINKLE, Esq. 

The town of Cross Plains, or town No. 7, north of 
range No. 7 east, is situated just fifteen miles west 
of Madison. The town was first settled in 1840, by 
Edward, Hugh and John Campbell. They were soon 
followed by John W. Thomas, Berry Haney, Francis 
Wilson, Thomas Arland and Sylvester Bell, who set- 
tled in the northern part, and William and Samuel 
Showers, Itipha Warden, Sidney Morgan, Jno. II. 
Clark, George P. Thompson, William Howry and 
David B. Carden, the last gentleman still a resident 
of the town, in the southern part. 

The organization and first town meeting was held 
on the 6th day of April, 1847, and Kipha Warden, Ira 
Campbell and Jno. H. Clark were elected supervisors; 
Berry Haney, clerk; William Showers, treasurer; 
William Howry, assessor. Four school districts were 
organized. Shortly afterwards schools were opened 
and teachers supplied. 

The town received its name from two military 
roads — one from Galena to Fort Winnebago, and 
the other from Prairie du Chien to Green Bay — 
crossing on a plain or piece of prairie land, about 
the middle of the town, and hence the name " Cross 
Plains." 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CKOSS PLAINS. 441 

The town was a favorite hunting ground among the 
Indians, and was also noted as the residence of Rob- 
ert Steele, a hunter and trapper, who, as the town 
became settled, moved away to some other place more 
suited for his business. In 1845, John Howry came 
from Virginia and settled on section 19, w T here he still 
continues to reside. 

A great deal of suffering was endured among the 
early settlers, especially among those who came late 
in the season. Some were obliged to hunt for roots 
and herbs to sustain them until harvest brought them 
their grain, which they carried to Madison to be sold, 
or rather exchanged, for what was then called store 
goods. Their grists were taken to Pokerville, in 
Iowa county, about fifteen or twenty miles distant, 
and sometimes a great deal farther, if they were un- 
fortunate in finding the mill undergoing repair. 

The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad 
crosses the town on the north, and the Madison, Min- 
eral Point, or Madison and Dodgeville stage road, 
crosses on the south. The population of the town is 
about 1,500. 

The northern part of the town is laid out in three 
villages, of which the first is Cross Plains. It was 
platted by the Baer Brothers, who kept a general stock 
of merchandise suitable for a country store. John, 
one of the brothers, is still doing an excellent busi- 
ness. Adrian Yirnig has a grocery and saloon; Engel 
Uebersetzig, saloon and public hall; Joseph Marx, 
blacksmith; and Peter Schut, wagon maker. Near- 



412 DANE COUNTY TOWNS CROSS PLAINS. 

ly opposite Jolm Baer's there is a neat Catliolic 
Church, built in the Gothic style, and with a parson- 
age attached for the use of the pastor, Rev. John 
Friedl, and a large building for the use of the parish 
and parochial school, which is taught by two of the 
sisters. Toward the northeast part of the village 
the Hon. Peter Zander, a wealthy and prosperous 
farmer, and our ex assemblyman, of 1876, has his 
farm. 

The next village is Christina, platted in 1856, by 
P. L. Mohr, Esq., then living in Madison, who had 
selected this spot for a village, on account of the love- 
liness of scenery it presented, and gave it its present 
name in honor of his wife. The Indians, in early 
times, had their wigwams raised there, and visited it 
often for a number of years after the white faces had 
taken possession of it. The three story stone grist 
mill at this village was built in 1858, by Oscar Mohr 
and Dr. Francis Fisher, who also erected a number of 
dwelling houses, and carried on a farming and milling 
business for eight years. A. Dederich and Charles 
Herman kept hotel in the village in those times. Her- 
man Zinkeisen, who afterwards perished on the ill- 
fated steamer " Schiller," carried on the first and 
most extensive general store and produce business 
in the village, which he afterwards sold out to R. 
Pickhardt. In 1856 the mill was sold to A. Kim- 
ball, who ran it for three years, and then sold it to 
Gustave Hering, who put in steam power. Besides 
being in the milling business, he is largely engaged in 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CROSS PLAINS. 413 

the sale of agricultural implements of every descrip- 
tion, and adds to his extensive business both energy 
and thrift. Herman J. Dahmen is located on the op- 
posite side from the mill, and has a general stock of 
merchandise, with a saloon attached; then there is 
Cross Plains postoffice and harness shop, kept and 
owned by F. H. Fredericks, who is doing a lucrative 
business, and whose handsome princely residence is a 
short distance from the store. Next comes Michael 
Strieker, hardware store and lumber yard; Edward 
Lampman, general merchandise store; and two thrif- 
ty blacksmiths, Charles Brendler and Chr. Koch, with 
Ph. Baerenklau, as wagon maker. There have recent- 
lv been erected two new district school houses two 
stories high, where the higher and lower branches of 
education will be taught. 

The next village is Foxville, platted in 1857, by 
Abijah Fox, one of the oldest settlers of the town, 
then a farmer, on whose land the depot was located. 
Mr. Fox bought and shipped the first bushel of wheat 
from that station, in his block warehouse. Joseph 
Yirnig and Louis Saemann each keep a saloon here, 
while the Brendler Hotel, owned and kept by Mich- 
ael Brendler, is widely known among commercial 
travelers as a first class hotel, and where mine host, 
Michael, seeks to make his guests comfortable and at 
home. William Marxs keeps the blacksmith shop; 
and Carl Jacobi, a first class store of general mer- 
chandise. 

Looking from the depot toward the northern bor- 



444 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CROSS PLAINS. 

der of the town, in the vicinity of Black Earth vil- 
lage, is a large rift of bare rocks, and going "south 
about four miles, you find yourself on a small hill in 
the center of the town, on the farm of John Laufen- 
bery, an old settler and wealthy farmer; and still far- 
ther on you behold the valley of Pine Bluff, one of 
the richest valleys in the town, about three miles 
square, and a perfect picture in beauty of landscape. 
It is called the "Ridge." 

Pine Bluff is a solid ledge of high rocks, on the top 
of which grow quite a number of fine pine trees, a 
scarcity in this part of the country, which gives 
the valley quite a romantic aspect, and from which it 
takes its name. 

The Sugar river rises in the southwest corner of 
of the town, on section 32, and passes through sec- 
tions 33, 34 and 35, in an eastern direction, into the 
town of Springdale, in the northeast corner. There 
is a branch or spring that rises on section 27 and 
unites on section 35. Near where it enters the town 
of Springdale is the Mormon Baptismal Pond. In 
the early history of the town several Mormons settled 
here, and the whole neighborhood for years were 
kept in a fevered excitement by the Sunday carnivals 
they often held George P. Thompson, T. S. Lloyd 
and George Harlow were some of the leaders among 
them. George was a son of old Isaiah Harlow, whose 
grave is in the beautiful burying ground on the hill 
that is overshadowed with the grove of trees, on Jere- 
miah Murphy's farm, section 31. There are several 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CROSS PLAINS. 445 

of this family buried here, as seen by the neat gray 
slabs or headstones that mark their last resting place. 
These graves are designated by some of the neigh- 
bors (but by mistake) as those of the Mormons. The 
only member of the family who became a Mormon 
was the son George, but who afterwards renounced 
and would have nothing to do with them. Near this 
same spot is the grave of Mrs. Odell, whose sudden 
and mysterious death filled the neighborhood with 
amazement. 

In approaching the town of Cross Plains from the 
east, on the Madison and Mineral Point road, we 
come to the dividing ridge or ancient beach, so well 
defined and preserved as to be observed by every stu- 
dent of geology. This beach, or ancient sea shore on 
this road, comes within ten rods of the east line of the 
town of Cross Plains. On its summit there is yet 
to be seen an old log, behind which Ebenezer Brig- 
ham (the first white settler of Dane count}') and 
Zach. Taylor (ex-President of United States), slept all 
night. 

From the highest part of this ridge, on the Mineral 
Point road, we have one of the finest landscapes pre- 
sented to our view that can perhaps be found any- 
where in our state, taking in the beautiful valley in 
which the head waters of Sugar river rise. This val- 
ley is surrounded on all sides by the dividing ridge and 
its spurs, except an opening of about forty rods on 
the southeast, through which Sugar river flows. 
There is a painting now in the land office at "Wash- 



446 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — CKOSS PLAINS. 

ington, D. C, taken from a point on this ridge near 
where the Mineral Point -road descends into the val- 
ley, which is pronounced by good judges as being the 
finest landscape painting in that department. It was 
made by a celebrated English artist, and lakes in the 
valley with its undulating prairie, the surrounding 
hills, and the Blue Mounds in the distance. 

Any one approaching this valley from the east dur- 
ing one of our beautiful summer evening sunsets, and 
who may have paused to view this landscape, present- 
ing miles of the most gorgeous and grand scenery, 
must have been convinced, as the English artist was, 
that here was a view worthy to be transferred to can- 
vas by any artist. 

Politically the town is democratic. During the 
late rebellion, on the first call for men, it sent twenty- 
two, of whom Hubert Kremer died in the hospital, 
while most of the others served through the war. It 
furnished its full quota of men, so that no draft ever 
occurred with us. 

St. Mary's Catholic Church is built on a small hill 
near the bluff, and attached to it, is a parsonage 
and the sisters' house. There is also a new district 
school, where John Loehrer keeps store and saloon ; 
William Cullen, of the Pine Bluff tavern and black- 
smith shop, and well known as a veterinary surgeon. 
Henry Winkle is postmaster, and the mail is distrib- 
uted about four times a week. [Mr. Winkle has filled 
the office of postmaster very acceptably for over seven 
years. He keeps store and has a general stock of 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS CROSS PLAINS. 417 

merchandise. Besides being engaged in business, he 
has also a farm.] 

Mr. James Bonner lives in the first house built in 
the town, and known as the old stage house, and which 
for many years was occupied by Edward Campbell as 
the relay house for the stages between Madison and 
Mineral Point. 

The Hon. Matt. M. Anderson is one of the leading 1 
farmers in our town, owning about 350 acres of the 
best land in the valley. His farm is known by the 
name of "Anderson's Willow Grove Stock Farm." 
He is largely engaged in the raising of stock, and 
has also a large dairy, from which he manufactures a 
very choice butter, and ships direct to the Philadel- 
phia market. In 1871 he was member of Assembly 
for our district. James Farrell, Richard Farrell, M. 
Casey, Henry J. Bollig, Jacob Kalscheuer, Joseph 
Wallraffj Jeremiah and Ed. Murphy are some of the 
leading farmers and stock raisers in the southwestern 
part of the town. 

The present town officers are: Henry J. Bollig, 
chairman, Jerry Murphy and Joseph Schaefer, as 
Suj>ermsors; Henry "Winkle, Clerk; Bernard Bollig, 
Treasurer; J. A. Mueller, Assessor. 

The town has seven substantially built school 
houses. 



448 BANE COUNTY TOWNS — FITOHBTJRG. 



FITCHBURG. 

BY DR. WILLIAM H. FOX AND WILLIAM VKOMAN. 

Fitchburg postoffice and election precinct were 
established and named about 1841, at the suggestion 
of that respected and esteemed pioneer patriarch, Eben- 
ezer Brigham, of Blue Mounds. The precinct in- 
cluded the townships of land that now constitute the 
towns of Oregon, Fitchburg, Dunn, and, I think, Rut- 
land; the place for holding elections and postoffice, at 
Win. Quivey's, half a mile south of what is now called 
Oak Hall, in the town of Fitchburg. There were only- 
ten or twelve voters in the precinct at that time, and no 
laid-out road except the old territorial road to Hume's 
Ferry and Janesville, which went by what is now 
ex-Governor Washburne's place, and round the head 
of Lake Wingra or Dead Lake, and then through 
Stoner's Prairie and southeast to Fitchburg postoffice, 
continuing southeast on the ridge dividing the waters 
running: to the Catfish from those of Sue-ar river. 
The old Daniel Baxter road, so called at that time, ran 
from the south part of Greeu county to Madison 
via- where the village of Albany on Sugar river now 
stands, intersecting the former a little south-east of 
Fitchburg postoffice, and the lead teamster's road from 
Mineral Point to Milwaukee intersecting it on Stoner's 
Prairie, east of these roads to Catfish or Yahara 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS FITCIIBUKG. 449 

river, and west to Sugar river. The country was then 
uninhabited. An Indian trail which ran from their 
village, at the head of lake Kegonsa, crossed Sugar 
river, where the village of Bcllville now stands, and 
went on, I think, to Prairie du Chien. This trail 
crossed the territorial road a little south of Fitch- 
burg Postoffice, and was the principal guide east to 
the Catfish or west to Sugar river. Towards that 
river the country was then all oak openings, some 
hilly, clear of undergrowth, so that it was easy to 
drive in any direction. Towards Catfish the country 
was more level, small prairies and oak openings clear 
of underbrush, the land undulating and mostly a good 
soil. 

In the fall of 1842, Geo. Fox and I, when look- 
ing land to locate on, left the trail near where the 
Cemetery now stands, on the prairie north of the 
present village of Oregon. We switched off to the 
north through the woods, to see what we could find, 
and pretty soon the woods began to look all the 
same. We were lost, and as the day wore on and 
we drove pretty fast we began to have a regular 
frontier appetite. After several hours we brought 
up at a hunters' camp, where a great many deer and 
wild duck were hanging on the trees close by. The 
hunters were absent, but we soon made ourselves at 
home, and, finding a little bread in a bag, fried some 
venison steak, and had a delicious dinner, with a drink 
from the spring near at hand. That spring is the Mr. 
Murphy spring, dose by the road at Lake View, and 
29 



450 DANE COUNTY TOWNS FITCHBURG. 

only about two miles from where we left tlie trail. 
We got back to the prairie by following the Lake 
View stream on the south side, to the pass through 
the hills where the railroad now runs, and soon 
made our way to the Fitchburg Postoffice, which 
was also a hotel, kept by Win. Quivey, where we met 
the hunters, Messrs. Hume and Postle, from Hume's 
Ferry, on Rock river, at whose camp we dined. They 
invited us to call again, and all had a good laugh at 
our getting lost in the woods. 

There were then, I think, but Jos. Yroman's and 
three other families, in what is the present town of 
Fitchburg. 

In the spring of 1843, Geo. Fox and myself com- 
menced to break up and improve the lands on which 
we still reside. John and Geo. Keenan also commen- 
ced to improve farms close by us, and Messrs. Wm. 
True, Pritcharcl and Nott purchased lands to locate on. 
That summer, many eastern people came out here view- 
ing lands. They liked the climate, soil and general 
face of the country; but thought it very far to a mill 
or blacksmith shop. We had no church or school, 
and few roads so they could not stand it. Our nearest 
mills were Mr. Hickcox's, in Eidgeway, Iowa county, 
Beloit, and Columbus, either one about forty miles 
distant. The nearest blacksmith shop was at Mad- 
ison, a long road round the head of Lake Wingra, and 
and the smith not always in a working mood, so that 
we often had to improvise a shop to sharpen our 
breaking plows, by heating the share in a fire made 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS FITCHBURG. 451 

of chips, and beating it out on the heads of iron 
wedges driven in a log. 

In the fall of 1844, Badger Mill was built by Joseph 
Yroman, with his brothers George and William, the 
first settlers of Fitchburg, and William A. Wheeler, 
of Verona. They gave a large party to celebrate 
the occasion, and the people for many miles around 
assembled. The Scotch settlement on Sugar river 
was largely represented, and Billy Ray played the 
Highland bagpipes, and the " Highland Fling " was 
danced to perfection by many a lad and lassie, who 
are now grandfathers and grand mothers. The mill 
was a great convenience to the surrounding country, 
until the stream dried up (it has now been dry for 
several years). Joseph Yroman owned the first reap- 
ing machine used in the town, about 1847. What 
the early settlers lacked in many of the conveniences, 
of life, they made up in self reliance and that kind of 
genial good neighborship that is usually found among 
the pioneers. They were hospitable, cordial, ready 
to do each other a good turn, and were not much 
troubled with those kind of cast iron conventionalities 
which take the heart out of social intercourse. They 
had few elements of discord among them; no pimps; 
no winners; and had not the fostering care of that 
self-sacrificing class of people, whose principal occu- 
pation is attending to other people's business, and re- 
penting for other people's sins. In the summer and fall 
of '44-5, settlers began to come in and buy up lands 
pretty fast. Some were very poor and could not buy, 



452 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — FITCIIBUKG. 

but would claim or " squat," as we called it, on a 
piece of land, and the earlier settlers to a man stood 
up for those poor fellows to protect them in their 
claims, and keep new comers from buying the lands, 
or "jumping their claims," as it was called. The 
Fitchburg Mutual Protection Society was organized 
for that purpose; had a regular book for each claimer 
to come and register his claim in, and any person 
jumping such claim would be called to account by the 
society, which, in this neighborhood, always resulted 
in having the land restored to the first claimant. Some 
of our most thrifty, honest and respected citizens got 
their present homes in that way. 

Deer were still very plenty here in fall of '44. One 
of our neighbors had a dog that caught a large buck 
by the hind leg, and by some means worried him to- 
wards the house; the woman of the house, on seeing 
the deer approach, sallied out with an axe and suc- 
ceeded in dispatching him. Joseph Fox, now of Ore- 
gon, happening to be pass by at the time, assisted the 
woman in taking care of the carcass. That same fall 
there were a great many bears prowling about. 

Mrs. Geo. Keenan was spending the day at Geo. 
Fox's; in the afternoon she started for home, about 
one and a half miles distant, carrying an infant in her 
arms; about half a mile from her house she met a full 
grown bear on the path. She would not turn out of 
the path into the tall prairie grass, lest she 
might trip and fall; neither would the bear turn out, 
but raised himself up for the usual mode of saluta- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS FITCHBUKG. 453 

tion, and as they met, placed his paws over Mrs. K.'s 
neck. Mustering all possible strength, she held the 
baby tight with her left arm, with her right dealt 
the bear a blow on the side of the head, and spring- 
ing back at the same time, got clear from him; she 
then took off her sun bonnet and flung it on the path, 
which he stopped to smell and shake in his mouth, 
and thus enabled her to get some distance ahead. But 
soon the bear caught np again and raised for a charge. 
Mrs. K. turned and faced him, when with an angry 
growl he caught her, and put one paw on the baby, 
causing it to cry. She struck him as before, and 
sprang back, pulling the baby, while the bear also 
pulled, tearing off its cloak, and then began shaking 
it in his mouth, while Mrs. K. again ran for the 
house, which she gained just in time to save another 
attack. The next morning the neighborhood turned 
out to hunt for the bear; did not find the old one, 
but found two cubs in a thicket not far from the 
house. 

The Fitchburg election precinct was merged in the 
organization of the town of Rome, A. D. 1345 or 6, 
which included the present towns of Oregon, Dunn 
and Fitchburg, and was named Rome by some of the 
settlers from New York state. A road having been 
laid out from Rooney's on the old territorial road, 
running north to Madison, also one from near Rock 
county line running northwest to Fitchburg Post- 
office, these roads crossed where the present village of 
Oregon now stands, and it being not far from the 



454 DANE COUNTY TOWNS FITCHBUKG. 

corners of said towns, it was called Rome Corners, 
and is jet known by that name. 

The town managed its own local affairs; three com- 
missioners the county business. At that time the 
settlers were mostly unacquainted with the luxury of 
a county training school for legislative aspirants and 
other tax-eating systems; consequently their taxes 
were light — about $1,600 in the town of Rome for all 
purposes — although roads had to be laid out and 
bridges and court house had to be built. I was the 
first treasurer of the town, and as both myself and the 
town supervisors were a little muddy on the law, I 
concluded to strike out of my bond the word "law" 
and insert "justice," according to the best of my 
judgment. The supervisors did not like to accept 
that bond, but one of them, Mr. Boise, father of 
the present Mr. Reuben, of Oregon, said although 
it was a sort of a Hibernian pioneer bond, yet he 
thought it would be all right, and they finally ac- 
cepted it. At that time it was the duty of town 
school supervisors to meet on a certain Tuesday in 
April to apportion the school money to the several 
districts. The}? - met on the wrong day and concluded 
they could not legally apportion the money. Several 
young ladies had taught school and they wanted their 
pay. The money was in the treasury, but there seemed 
to be no legal way to get it out; then the bond came 
to the relief of the girls. I suggested that if any 
school trustee would state in writing that the girls 
had taught school and were justly entitled to their 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — FITCHBURG. 455 

jjay, that I would pay them on receipt of such state- 
ment. It was procured, and the girls were paid, to 
their great joy and satisfaction. 

About that time an amusing incident occurred, 
showing the vague and erroneous ideas which pre- 
vailed to some extent in the eastern states regarding; 
the western frontiersmen. A man from Massachu- 
setts came out to see the country and some land in 
this town that he had bought without previously see- 
ing, lie came to my house to pay some tax due on 
his land, and asked to see my books to learn the 
amount. I took from a bureau drawer a large shot 
bag containing the town money and papers, untied 
the string and took out a copy of the tax list. With 
an astonished look he asked if that was the only 
book, and if I was in truth the town treasurer. I 
replied that the settlers were mostly poor and did 
not care to buy anything that they could just as 
well do without, and showed him how I kept the 
account. I put the whole amount of money received 
into the bag, and when it was paid out I put the 
voucher into the bag, so the account always balanced. 
He appeared confused and frightened ; said it might 
be all right, but he never saw business done in that 
way; would prefer to go to Madison before paying 
his taxes. My house was. a log one, and located 
in the woods, in a lonely place, and he evidently 
thought that he had got into a trap, for after leaving 
my house he tried to hire an escort to Madison for 
fear of being followed and robbed. At Madison he 



y 



456 DANE COUNTY TOWNS FITCHBURG. 

found it was all right, then returned and paid his 
tax. 

In 1847 or 8, the town of Rome was divided, and 
the present town of Fitchburg organized as the town 
of Greenfield, which name collided with Greenfield in 
Milwaukee county, and caused some mistakes in mail 
matters, so it was proposed to change the name of 
Greenfield, in Dane county, to Fitchburg, the name 
of the post-office, and which it still retains. The first 
town meeting was held at the house of Mr. William 
Quivey, near Fitchburg Corners. 

There are nine district schools in town, and two 
churches. The one on section 35 is Roman Catholic, 
Rev. Father Butler, j>astor; the other, on Syene Pra- 
irie, Methodist Episcopal. 

FITCHBUKG BY WILLIAM VKOMAN. 

Town 6, range 9, town of Fitchburg, is situated in 
the central and southern part of Dane county, bound- 
ed north by the town of Madison, west by the town 
of Verona, south by the town of Oregon, and east by 
the town of Dunn. It is one of the best agricultural 
towns in the county, with very little or no waste 
lands, about equally divided between prairie and oak 
openings. The soil is very rich and climate healthy. 
There are several creeks and springs, of which the 
Nine Springs, situated in the northeast part of the 
town, are justly celebrated. In a distance of some 
sixty rods, nine springs start out of the highlands on 
the edge of the marsh, and form a creek which 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — FITCHBUEG. 457 

empties into Third lake, giving sufficient water to 
carry a mill. Upon this site the State Fish Hatchery 
House is now located, and a splendid location it is 
for the purpose designed, having plenty of pure 
spring water, and a fall of some fifteen or twenty feet 
to the marsh, and no danger from overflow or freshets. 
It seems designed by nature for the purpose now used. 
The state has erected elegant buildings, and the insti- 
tution is in successful operation. 

In 1837 the first farm was opened in the town by 
John Stoner, on section 17. Stoner's Prairie was 
named after him. He never lived upon the farm, but 
resided in the then village of Madison, lie went out 
to the farm on Monday mornings and took his rations 
with him for the week. He erected a shanty, open 
on three sides, covered with oak shakes, which turned 
most of the rain ; a fire in front on the ground for 
cooking purposes; a bundle of straw and blankets; a 
few camp stools, constituted the furniture in this cabin, 
in which he managed to keep open house. Many a 
weary traveler and visitor has partaken of his hospi- 
tality, and many a night has the writer of this slept 
with him in this improvised house, open upon three 
sides, and nothing- but the broad canopy of shakes. 

The first settlers in the town were George Yroman, 
Joseph Yroman and William Yroman, in 1839. They 
opened a farm on sections 17 and 20, south of and 
adjoining the Stoner farm, and in the fall of that year 
built a log house and moved there. This was the 
first house built between Madison and New Mexico, 



458 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — FITCHBURG. 

now Monroe. They were quickly followed by Dr, 
William 11. Fox, George Fox, Joseph Fox, James Fox, 
Rev. Matthew Fox, and the Itev. Win. Fox, their 
father, (from County Westmeatte, Ireland), William 
Quivey, Willam True, George and John Keenan, 

P. Pritchard, Postle, Frank Nott, the Salis- 

burys, Charles and John Watkins. These were 
the pioneers of the town of Fitchburg; good, gene- 
rous, true hearted men, just the men to open up a 
new country; men that you could tie to; that believed 
in the golden rule; men of whom you never asked a 
favor in vain; you were welcome to their homes, and 
their latch strings always hung out. 

The times were hard, the people were poor, and they 
voted to pay their officers fifty cents per day. The 
writer of this [Wm. Yroman, Esq.] was elected road 
commissioner (an office now consolidated with the su- 
pervisor), and has now a realizing sense of the labor per- 
formed fur the money received. Three towns to travel 
over, to lay out into road districts, appoint path mas- 
ters, make out warrants, and lay out roads. I spent 
twenty days in the service of the town, for which I 
brought in a bill of seven dollars, and the town board 
cut me down to four dollars. Four dollars for twenty 
days' work! Well, the people were poor, and they said 
we must take turns in holding office. If the politi- 
cians of the present day were paid as liberally, they 
would not be as anxious for office. The next year the 
town was separately organized as the town of Green- 
field, so named on account of its green grasses and 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — ITTCIIBUEG. 459 

fields. It retained this name for two or three years, 
when it was found that there was a town in Milwaukee 
county of the same name, which had prior claim to 
the name, and as two towns of the same name in the 
state made some confusion in postal matters, the name 
was altered to Fitchburg. Our nearest grist mill, in 
1839, was at Hickox, on Wisconsin river, now Helena, 
some thirty miles distant. But mills soon sprung up 
all around us, so that at Fulton, Rock county, Cook- 
ville, Dayton and Badger Mills, four miles west of 
us in Verona, we had them somewhat nearer. The 
commerce of the country at this early day was mostly 
carried on by Sucker team, a large Pennsylvania wagon 
with from four to six yoke of oxen to haul it. We 
called them prairie schooners, and they used to go in 
fleets, sometimes as manv as eight or ten wagons to- 
gether. These covered wagons going over the prairie 
at a distance, resembled very much a fleet of schooners, 
hence the name. Their principal loading on the jour- 
ney to Lake Michigan was lead, and the back freight 
sundry goods for our merchants. They carried with 
them long goad poles, some ten feet long, and a 
lash to correspond; you could hear the crack of their 
whip for a mile away. They were the kings of the 
roads. Everything had to give way for them, until 
stage coaches were put upon the road, when the driv- 
ers got long stretches with knives in the end, and 
raked their teams, sending them bellowing from the 
road, which caused them to give the stage coaches a 
wide berth. 



460 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — FITCHBURG. 

In those early days, before the preemption laws 
were passed, the settlers formed claim clubs for the 
protection of those that were not able to enter their 
lands. In the fall of 184-1, I attended a meeting of 
one of their clubs, near where George Fox now lives. 
The circumstances were as follows: Two men claimed 
the same forty of land, one belonged to the club while 
the other did not; the man that did not belong to the 
club having obtained the money first, entered the land. 
A committee of the club waited upon him and in- 
sisted on his deeding the land over to the first claim- 
ant; refusing to do so, they then called a meeting of 
the club, and notified him that they would meet at his 
house on a certain night, and use such persuasive 
arguments as would induce him to deed over the land. 
He remained stubborn, so the club met at his house 
in the evening, some fifty strong, with axes and guns. 
They surrounded his house in a rather noisy manner, 
and a committee, sufficient to fill his house, entered 
with a justice of the peace, the money, deed and all 
made out; he finally came down gracefully, by sign- 
ing the deed, and taking the money, and then ac- 
knowledging that he signed the deed of his own free 
will and accord, without fear, favor, or intimidation, 
although surrounded by some fifty noisy men, threat- 
ening all manner of things. I do not think the deed 
was worth much, but it was never contested, and I 
think in the end justice was done. Some societies 
were organized on the princij^le of letting those that 
came in and entered claims, severely alone, agreeing to 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — FIPCHBURG. 461 

neither borrow, lend, or associate with, them, which 
soon brought them to terms. 

I think that Dr. Wm. II. Fox was the first practic- 
ing physician in Dane county outside of Madison, 
and had a most extensive practice of thirty or forty 
miles ride, which was done on horseback. I have 
heard him say that he has ridden many a rainy day, 
until his boots were filled with water. He was ready 
at all times to render assistance, either as doctor or 
friend, and one of our most A'aluable citizens. 

Some of the early settlers came into the county in 
large wagons drawn by oxen. The wagons were 
covered, and whole families with their household 
goods would travel in this way until they located. 
They had a long rope attached to the oxen, and their 
stock tied on each side of the rope, with a yoke of 
cattle or horses hitched to the end of the roj)e to 
keep them straight. There were also what we called 
emigrants who came by land. Others would come in 
wagons, move upon their land, turn their wagon- 
box upside down, and sleep under it; while others 
would set boards around a tree and move in and 
cook their meals outside in true camping style, and 
live in this way with no rent or hotel bills to j)ay, 
until they could build their log houses. Others 
would join in with their friends until they could 
make provision for themselves. Log houses were 
very elastic in those days — they were like an omni- 
bus, never full, but always room for one more. 

The settlers in these early times were very friendly 



462 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — FITCHEURG-. 

helping each other in all things requiring assistance, 
and would go almost any distance to help. I recol- 
lect being at the raising of a large barn, in 1839, in 
the town of Cross Plains, on what was known as the 
Campbell Farm, near where Mr. Anderson now 
resides. I think it was the first frame barn raised 
on a farm in Dane county. It was a large barn and 
required a good many men to help in raising it. 
They came from a distance of twenty-five or thirty 
miles around, from Madison, Sauk, Blue Mounds, and 
Ridgeway, Iowa county, and a right jolly set of men 
they were, when they got together on such an occasion. 
There were but very few settlers then. I think 
there were only six farms opened in Dane county at 
this time. In the fall of 1839, there was an election 
held in the county, for county officers, and only 
about eighty votes polled, which also included Sauk 
county. I remember attending a Fourth of July 
celebration, in 1845, in the Scotch settlement in the 
town of Verona; the attendance was from the towns 
around. The programme was for fun generally, and 
we had it. Rifle shooting for sheep, home-made 
Scotch whisky and beer, playing base ball, dancing 
the " Highland fling" on the green, with Billy Ray 
and his bagpipes for music. We had more real en- 
joyment than can be had at any celebration at the 
present day. But as the mixing of Scotch whisky 
and beer did not agree with all, some went home 
w T ith a brick in their hat. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANE. 463 



DANE. 

BY ROBERT STEELE AND MANSFIELD ARRIES. 

The town of Dane is situated in the northwestern 
part of Dane county, being town jS~o. 9 north, range 
No. 8 east. 

The town of Dane derived its name from the old 
Dane postoffice. 

The surface of the town is quite rolling, and in a 
few places there are precipitous bluffs. When in its 
natural state, the town was about equally divided be- 
tween prairie and timber land, the principal part of 
the prairie being in the eastern and the timber in the 
western. The greater part of the town is quite des- 
titute of water. The only stream of water has its 
source on section eight, and running in a northeast- 
erly direction, crosses the county line near the north- 
east corner of section four, being the stream on which 
the Lodi Mills are situated. In some respects this 
is a remarkable stream, and it is doubtful if any oth- 
er stream in the county can equal it. Its principal 
source is what is known as the " big spring," and this 
alone furnishes fully one-half of the water that drives 
Mr. Andrews' mill at Lodi, only three miles distant, 
the stream being fed entirely by springs, from which 
it derives its name, " Spring Creek," and is not affec- 
ted by the severest drought, but furnishes a uniform 



464 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANE. 

supply of water the year round. The bottom lauds 
along tliis stream are of the best quality for growing 
various kinds of grasses, very little being marshy or 
too wet to be drained with trifling expense, and thus 
be made the best meadow land in the state. These 
bottom lands along this creek and a small portion of 
sections 34 and 35 are the only wet lands in the town. 
The scarcity of water and the great depth at which 
wells had to be sunk, was a drawback to the early set- 
tlement of the town. Many of the wells are from 
one to two hundred feet deep, and dug through a hard 
sandstone rock, but the method of drilling, and the 
use of windmills have almost entirely overcome what 
at one time seemed to be an insurmountable difficul- 
ty. Now almost every farmer has an abundant 
supply of pure cold water, which is brought to the 
surface with but little expense. 

The quality of the soil is of the very best for agri- 
cultural purposes, being a dark brown loam, from two 
to twelve feet in depth. In the timbered jiortion of the 
town the soil is a heavy clay loam, and very produc- 
tive. About seventy-five per cent, of the land is 
now under cultivation. The remaining twenty-five 
is the rough or hilly portion of the town, which 
is covered with a dense second growth of tim- 
ber, that, if not wantonly destroyed, will furnish an 
abundant supply of timber for the future. These 
rough and bluffy lands present to the casual observer 
an aspect not the most pleasing, and it must be ad- 
mitted they are a drawback to the town, yet they are 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANE. 465 

not an entire waste, for had they all been tillable they 
would doubtless have all been brought under cultiva- 
tion, and left the town destitute of timber, and per- 
haps made water scarcer than heretofore. There is 
another advantage derived from them, that is the 
abundance of limestone they contain. A good quarry 
can be found on almost any section in the town con- 
taining an inexhaustable quantity of stone of the very 
best quality for building purposes. 

"Wheat was the staple product of the town for the 
first twenty years, covering a period of time from 
1850 to 1870. During this time there were but few 
failures of the crop, and all that was requried of the 
husbandman was to break up the virgin soil, sow the 
seed, and a bountiful harvest was insured. For seven 
or eight years this crop has been less cultivated, and 
it is doubtful if the wheat crop of the town for three 
years back has paid expenses. As the continual drop- 
ing wears the rock, so the continual cropping of wheat 
has so exhausted the soil, or those properties of it which 
are necessary to its growth, that a paying crop was 
very uncertain. The system of farming has under- 
gone a great change in the last few years, mixed hus- 
bandry being adopted by nearly all. The raising of 
stock and the dairy products are the leading features 
of farming at the present time, and promise to be 
very successful. The soil is well adapted to the 
growth of clover and other grasses, never failing to 
produce a bountiful crop, except in cases of severe 
drouths. Corn, oats and barley produce good crops 
30 



4:66 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANK. 

under ordinary circumstances. A large portion of 
the grain is fed out on the farm, and the farmers are 
beginning to realize that by keeping stock their lands 
are rapidly increasing in the productiveness of such 
crops as are required for stock raisers, and which, du- 
ring the past eight years have done much toward the 
improvement of cattle, hogs and sheep. 

A cheese factory has been in successful operation 
at Dane station, for three years, manufacturing the 
milk of 250 cows, and averaging 65,000 to 70,000 
pounds of cheese annually. There is also another, 
more recently started, adjoining the Win. T. Leitch 
farm, by George R. Hoisington, which is being very 
favorably patronized. 

Fruit has received considerable attention, but not 
with the most flattering results. A few of the hardy 
varieties do well and pay for cultivation. Small fruits 
are cultivated to some extent, and with a fair degree 
of success, doing much better than the apple or pear. 

It is always interesting to recall the scenes of early 
life, although it may have been one of toil, privation 
and hardship. We like to think of the past and talk of 
the thrilling events connected with it. The old sol- 
dier likes to dwell on the past, and repeat the incidents 
connected with his life, while the sailor loves to 
recall the perils of the deep. But in no department 
of life can we find anything of more interest than we 
find in the pioneers of our country. We like to see 
the man that built the first cabin in any town, county 
or state; that struck the first blow in opening up our 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANE. 407 

country to civilization; that took the first step in the 
organization of civil government. 

This honor must be accredited to Freedom Simons, 
the first settler of the town of Dane. He, with his 
family, consisting of his wife and children, immigrat- 
ed from Cayuga county, N. Y., landing in Milwaukee 
on the 6th day of September, 1842. To give the 
reader something of an idea of the privations and 
hardships which the early settlers endured, we will 
give a few incidents in the life of this pioneer family. 

Arriving at Milwaukee on board a steamer which 
came to anchor at a considerable distance from shore 
(there being no docks or piers), they were taken on 
board a lighter and landed safely where the city of 
Milwaukee now stands. One small warehouse accom- 
modated all the freight business of the state at that 
point. After landing, Mr. Simons set to work to find 
means of conveyance from Milwaukee to Prairie du 
Sac, the place of his destination. At that time there 
were no public means of conveyance; no horse teams 
to be had, so he chartered Avhat was known in those 
days as a "Sucker team," which consisted of five yoke 
of oxen. After six days travel, he reached the place 
of his destination. 

In the spring of 1843, he settled in what is now the 
town of Springfield, near where Hyer's hotel stands, 
which was the only house between Fourth lake and 
Prairie du Sac, and took part in the organization of 
the voting precinct, consisting of all the territory be- 
tween Fourth lake and the Wisconsin river. At the 



468 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — DANE. 

first election seven votes were polled, and Mr. Simons 
elected justice of the peace; lie also received the ap- 
pointment of post master, and the office was named 
Dane, after Dane county, through the influence of Mr. 
John Catlin of Madison. 

In 1845, he moved and settled on section 32, in the 
town of Dane. Mr. Simons was not only the first set- 
tler in the town, but one of the pioneers of western 
Dane countv. 

In November, Mrs. Simons gave birth to a son, 
the first white child born in the town. He is now liv- 
ing in Minnesota, bearing the name of his grand- 
father, Sardis Dudley. 

Mr. Simons took part in the organization of the 
town of Dane, and was elected to the office of assessor. 
He is a man of great energy and force of character, 
never neutral on any question, and always taking an 
active part in town affairs. He is now living in the 
village of Lodi, enjoying a green old age. 

In the autumn of 1845, Patrick Malone settled in 
the town and engaged in farming and lumbering. He 
died of cholera in September, 1850. 

Early in the spring of 1846, Mr. Joshua E. Abbott 
settled on section 6. He was one of the pioneers of 
Wisconsin, a native of Canada, and came to Wisconsin 
in 1836. He was married at Mineral Point in 1840, 
to Miss Elizabeth Skinner. 

The tide of immigration having fairly set in, Gr. O. 
Babcock and J. R. Waterbury, from St. Lawrence Co., 
K. Y., and what was known as the Ohio settlement, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — DANE. 469 

from Ohio, came in during the summer. This was a 
valuable acquisition to the town, and it is seldom that 
a settlement is made up of men and women as well 
qualified for pioneer life; all, men of a high moral 
character, and in possession of a liberal education. 
They wielded a powerful influence in shaping the 
moral sentiment of the community. Prominent 
among them were Dr. Eben Blachly, his brother Bell, 
A. J. Luce, "Win. Dunlap and Samuel Bell. 

In this settlement the first school district was or- 
ganized, and the first school house in the town was 
built in 1S47; Miss Sarah Blachly teaching the first 
term. Miss Blachly was married to Bev. Dr. Bradley, 
of Siain, in the fall of 1848 (the first couple married 
in the town), and immediately left for their distant 
field of labor, and a^e still engaged in missionary 
work. A Congregational church was organized in 
1848, with Rev. Mr. Blachly as pastor. 

The sketch of this settlement would be incomplete 
if particular mention was not made of Mr. Luce. 
He was a man of strong convictions, a fine public 
speaker and an admirable debater. He was an active 
politician, thoroughly devoted to the cause of free- 
dom. Many of the politicians of Dane county will 
remember him from the heavy blows they received at 
his hands in the discussion of some of the issues of 
the day. He died in the spring of 1863. 

Among the early settlers were Mr. Otto and Peter 
Bapp and family. In the summer of 1848 a large 
number of settlers came in, among whom were the 



470 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANE. 

Steeles, Riddles and Strangeway. A large majority 
of the early settlers were from New York and Ohio, 
and of the best class of society. 

The following, taken from the records of the town, 
will show the steady increase of the voting popula- 
tion, and the men elected to the respective town 
offices : 

The first town meeting was held at the house of 
William Dunlap on the 4th day of April, 1848. 
George O. Babcock was elected moderator, and Bell 
Blachly and Josiah Fitch, inspectors. D. C. Miller 
was elected chairman, Alfred Newman and J. II. 
Waterbury, supervisors. Alfred Newman, town clerk. 
Nathaniel Martin, John Miller and W. G. Winters, 
school commissioners. Sperry Tinker, treasurer and 
collector. John Miller, Freedom Simons and Nathan 
Martin, justices of the peace. At this time there 
were twenty-seven votes in the town; in 18G0, two 
hundred; while in 1876 there were two hundred and 
eighty. 

It will not be out of place to notice some of the 
privations and hardships incident to pioneer life. A 
large majority of the early settlers were men of lim- 
ited means; all were engaged in opening new farms; 
houses of the rudest bearing were built to shelter them 
from the pelting storms and the biting frosts.; fire 
places in one end of the cabin and the old tin oven 
answered for all the purposes of stoves. Economy of 
the strictest sort was practiced to procure the necessa- 
ries of life. The wool was shorn from the sheep, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANE. 471 

carded, spun and woven by our good wives and moth- 
ers to make clothing for the family. Threshing was 
done by means of oxen treading out the wheat upon ** 
the ground. The wheat was taken to mill with ox- 
teams, taking three or four days to get a grist to mill 
and home again, Badger Mills being the nearest. 
Wheat could seldom be sold for money or traded 
for groceries without hauling it to Milwaukee by 
team, and not unfrequently the expenses ate up the 
load. What would the farmers of Dane think if they 
had to haul their wheat one hundred miles by wagon 
and sell it for forty cents per bushel ? And 
yet the universal cry of 1877 is '-'•hard times.'''' The 
common method of traveling was on foot or with ox- 
teams. Traveling with a horse-team and lumber 
wagon was a luxury seldom enjoyed. What a change 
has taken place in less than one-third of a century. 
The old pioneer, when he looks around, pauses in 
breathless silence and wonders if this can be a reality. 
Then he could stand on our prairies and see no trace 
of civilization. The Indian and the wild beast roamed 
at will over this beautiful country. 

From the time the first blow was struck, the work 
of civilization has gone steadily and rapidly on, and 
now the waving fields of wheat and corn greet the 
eye in every direction. The log cabin has given place 
to the Btately farm mansion, the hovel to the large 
and commodious barns, and the old rude implements 
of husbandry to the latest and most improved farm 
machinery, so that as much can now be accomplished 



472 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — DANE. 

in one day, with the same motive power, as could in 
three days, twenty-five years ago. 

The farmers are now no longer obliged to spend a 
large portion of their time in marketing the products 
of their farms, being well accommodated with railroad 
facilities. The Northwestern railroad runs nearly 
through the town, crossing the town line on the east 
side, about half a mile from the southeast corner, 
running in a northwesterly direction, crossing the 
north line at the corner of sections two and three. 
The action of the town in aiding the Northwestern 
Railroad Company in building the road shows that 
the people of the town are awake to everything that 
pertains to their interest. The town was asked to 
subscribe ten thousand dollars stock to the Baraboo 
Air Line Railroad, which was virtually a bonus of 
that amount to the Northwestern Railroad Company. 
The amount was promptly voted, and the bonds of 
the town given for the stock. About the time the 
bonds of the town were given, the raiload company 
made the town the following proposition: That they 
w T ould buy the stock at thirty per cent, if the town 
would pay the balance due on the bonds in cash. Un- 
der the able and judicious management of the town 
board of supervisors, Mr. II. H. Brearton being chair- 
man, the seven thousand dollars was paid in two in- 
stallments, with seven per cent, interest. Thus the 
entire indebtedness of the town was wiped out, and 
its financial condition is good. Town expenses are 
generally light, but little being required except for 
the salaries of town officers and school expenses. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DANE. 473 

Dane Station is situated on the Northwestern Rail- 
road, and is a flourishing little village. The princi- 
pal business men of the place are: M. Arries, dealer 
in farm produce ; O'Dwyer & Arries, druggists and dry 
goods merchants; M. Roland, dry goods merchant, 
who is also building a new warehouse for the pur- 
chase of produce; Knuteson & Bro., blacksmiths and 
wagon makers; Theodore Stuchen, wagon maker; 
F. Anhalt, harness maker; A. Ballwey, shoemaker; 
M. O'Dwyer, postmaster; N. Opdahl, meat market; 
N. Little, blacksmith; John Hochstine, Joseph Cla- 
mes, Nich. Little, saloon keepers. 

About one-half of the population are of German 
nationality, Americans, Norwegians, Scotch and Irish 
making up the balance. 

The climate is very healthy. No maliarial diseases 
were ever known to originate in this town. 

For healthfulness of climate, fertility of soil, rail- 
road facilities, etc., Dane compares favorably with the 
best towns in Dane county. 

A large German Catholic church was built in 1875. 

There are four school districts and eight joint in 
town. 

The present town officers are as follows: 

Supei'visors — Thomas Leitch, chairman, William 
Rapp and Seth Benjamin. Town Clerk — William 
T. Leitch, Jr. Treasurer — Peter B. Doane. As- 
sessor — Frank X. Endres. Justices of the Peace — 
William T. Leitch, Jr., G. W. Bell, and Richard 
Ferrill. 



474 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MONTROSE. 



MOKTROSE. 

BY H. E. STORY. 

This township lies on the southern line of the coun- 
ty, which separates it from the town of Exeter, Green 
county, and consists of township 5 north, of range 8 
east. It is fifteen miles southwest of Madison. 

The soil of the town is quite varied. The north 
half is a heavy, clayey soil, mostly oak opening; the 
southeast part is rather light, warm and sandy; the 
southern part is mostly timber and prairie, and is ex- 
cellent soil. The whole town is well watered, Sugar 
river running through it, entering on section three 
and passing into Green county on section thirty-five, 
and also by the west branch of Sugar river, which 
enters the town on the western boundary at section 
eighteen and empties into Sugar river at section twen- 
ty-eight. A number of large springs are also well 
distributed over the whole town. The surface is roll- 
ing, timber well distributed. The whole is well adapt- 
ed to stock raising and the dairy business. There are 
good marsh lands on the streams. 

The early settlers were Daniel M. Holt, John "Webb, 
J. M. and P. "W. Matts and Geo. McFadden. 

The town was organized February 11, 1847. 

In 1838, when Mr. Robert Ream (the father of 
"Wisconsin's sculptress, Minnie Ream, proprietor for 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 475 

a number of years of the Madison House, or first 
house built in Madison, at one time owned by Eben 
Peck), in company with W. C. Wells, traveled from 
Monroe, then known as Xew Mexico, and passing 
through this town towards Madison, which was the 
only market for produce from Green county in those 
days, camped the first night at Grand Springs, or 
on the land that was afterward entered by Mr. Mc- 
Faddeu, but which was not at that time known as 
the Springs. After cooking their supper, and hav- 
ing a little fear of the wolves troubling them, they kept 
a good log fire burning, but did not remain long 
in the pleasant enjoyment of their frugal meal before 
they were completely surrounded with droves of 
of snarling, barking, prairie wolves, but keeping 
a rousing fire all night and singing negro melo- 
dies and camp meeting songs to help the general con- 
cert of the roaring, crackling fire and the infernal 
howling of the wolves, they very early next morning 
took leave of their new friends. Finding the old 
road very crooked and uncertain, they were the first 
that blazed the road between here and Madison by 
way of Stoner's Prairie, and which for a number of 
years w r as used as the public highway. Mr. Ream 
says that when he returned from Madison he made 
the journey to Monroe on foot in one day, a distance 
of forty miles by the road, and was obliged to wade 
the Sugar river and a number of its tributaries, to- 
gether with several large marshes, which resulted in 
bringing on a severe attack of rheumatism. 



476 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 

Mr. Ream was brother-in-law of Mrs. McFadden, 
of Grand Springs, and in speaking of the trouble of 
wolves he relates that on one occasion when returning 
with a load of provisions from Green county, his sis- 
ter put him up a good tin can of butter to carry home 
to Madison. The possessor of a good bucket of dairy 
butter was in those days a matter of envy by all who 
knew of it, and while passing over the rough roads 
and anticipating the pleasure he would have on reach- 
ing home and showing his prize, he unconsciously tip- 
ped out the basket and traveled four or five miles 
before he missed his treasure. Taking one of his 
horses out of the wagon, which he mounted, he started 
back, but only reached the place where his loss occur- 
red in time to scare off a pack of wolves that had not 
only devoured the butter, but had gnawed the bucket 
in pieces. 

Mr. W. W. "Willoughby, one of the old pioneer set- 
tlers, speaking of the condition of things when he 
came, says: 

Myself and family arrived in the town of Montrose at noon on the 
16th day of May, 1846. Starting from Chautauque county, New- 
York, we were twenty-two days on the road. We put up at the 
house of Mr. Geo. McFadden, where we relished, with a keen appe- 
tite, the pork and beans set out before us for dinner. We encoun- 
tered a great number of hardships in consequence of the rainy 
weather, the muddy roads being such as to very much impede our 
progress. Vegetation was pretty far advanced, and the whole 
country looked beautiful, but we had become so mystified in our 
continued traveling, that the sun would persist in setting in the 
north and rising in the south. Go where we liked, it would remain 
so until time wore it out. 

Religious services were always held in summer in Mr. McFad- 



frtr 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTKOSE. 477 

den's barn, and in winter, in the house. The day after our arrival 
being the Sabbath, the Rev. Mr. Bunting preached from the text : 
'"Are not the waters of Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, 
better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them 
and be clean?" In two or three weeks after my arrival, I 
raised a balloon-frame house, the first in the town. There being 
but one sawmill hi the county near at hand, I had to take my turn 
in getting lumber from the mill, which was about once in two weeks, 
and then I would get a small load of clapboards to nail on. In the 
meantime we had no roof over our heads, only a carpet, which did 
very well except when it rained, and it seemed as though that was 
every night. The only way we kept dry was for my wife and 
child to sleep under the umbrella, while I hung my camlet cloak 
slanting on some chains. With all these inconveniences I enjoyed 
myself hugely, but my wife would get homesick once in a while, 
and would often make tea five times a day to get rid of it. Tea 
is a good medicine for homesick people, and I can recommend it 
from experience. About three months after we came, we were able 
to keep dry in our own house, and, though small in size, we often 
had as many as eighteen living with us. Sometimes as many as 
three famDies of our friends would stay with us from five to six 
weeks, until they got located. 

The first school kept in this township was taught in my gram 
barn, Miss Kate Killroy, teacher. All the children for two miles 
each way made a school of over twenty scholars. We were good 
friends and neighbors in those days, when we lived five and six 
miles apart. It was in these times that we drove ox teams to Mil- 
waukee, got forty cents a bushel for wheat, and took eight days to 
make the trip. 

Deer were very plenty then. I remember inviting my wife to go 
hunting with me (I never was much of a hunter, but I killed a deer 
once in a while). Starting with my team, I had not gone over half 
a mile from home before I came broadside upon a big buck. Leav- 
ing the reins to my wife I drew up my gun, but it shook so I missed 
the deer, and my wife teased me so much about it that I never 
asked her to go hunting again. 

The time of my first visit to Madison was in June of the same 
year I moved here, and I went with Mr. and Mrs. McFadden. We 
were entertained at the house of W. W. Wyman, who printed the 
whig paper, and politics ran very high then. His daughter Emily 



47S DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MONTROSE. 

invited my wife to go into the printing office, and her introduction 
of my wife to her father was, " Father, give this lady a paper; she 
is a whig." She had made the discovery that my wife was a whig, 
which in after acquaintance was the cause of many a laugh with 
Miss Emily, who is now no more. I still live on the farm I entered 
from the government, and but few of my old neighbors are left here 
with me. 

The year 1846 was a very sickly season; almost everybody in our 
part of the country had the ague, and before I had been here three 
months I was taken down with a sickness the nature of which I 
did not know. There was no doctor except Dr. Fox, and he lived 
fifteen miles away. I found it necessary to consult some one, 
so Mr. McFadden showed me the Indian trail, and told me to fol- 
low it and it would take me to the doctor's house. I obeyed in- 
structions and found him. He was sitting in his chair, prop- 
ped up with pillows and bed quilts, and his wife trying to make 
him comfortable. It seemed he had had the misfortune to 
fall into a half dug well, having been called up the night before, 
and had broken some of his ribs and sprained an ankle, and was 
smashed up in general. But all of that did not prevent him from 
administering to his patients. He told 7ne I had the ague, and 
gave me some medicine. I continued after that to have it about 
one year off and on. 

I had but little means left after my farm was paid for; in fact, 
nothing but my hands, and I truly thought it looked like a sorry day 
for me. But there was a good deal of teaming at that time from 
Illinois with flour into the pineries, and one man being too heavily 
loaded, sold me a barrel of flour for twelve shillings. None knew 
how thankful I was for that good fortune. My wife and Mary Kill- 
roy were the only women in this part of the town that escaped the 
ague. A family from Vermont, named Rogers, who lived about one 
mile from me, with a family of seven children, were all down with 
it, and my wife and Mary used to take turns in baking bread 
for them. I being sick, my wife would have to hunt the cows at 
night, and as we had heard awful stories about snakes in Wiscon- 
sin (she was terribly afraid of them), she would put on my high 
topped boots, and when she came to high grass (it was pretty high 
in those days), she says she ran through it for dear life. 

Prairie chickens were more plenty in my dooryard than tame 
ones. The first one I ever saw was on the other side of Beloit. I 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 479 

heard a strange noise in the marsh, so I took my gun, thinking 
of wolves all the time, and started to see. When I came hi the 
vicinity of the groaning, to my astonishment it was nothing but a 
bird, stamping around with its feathers all in a rumple, and wliile 1 
was contemplating and wondering what the d — 1 ailed it, it took 
wing and left. 

The first postoffice established was called Grand Spring, and re- 
mained so until Belleville grew up a village, when it was changed 
to that place and name. I think our town was first named Grand 
Spring by Mr. McFadden, after his spring, but there were so many 
townships that had a spring in their name that the legislature did 
not grant their request. I think it was named Montrose by P. W. 
Matts, Esq. 

For thirty-one years I have enjoyed Wisconsin life. Whether I 
live thirty-one years longer or not, I know they will not be any hap- 
pier. W. W. WlLLOUGHBY. 

BELLEYILLE. 

The village of Belleville is situated on the west 
bank of Sugar River, on the south line of the county, 
twenty miles southwest of Madison. It is surrounded 
by an excellent farming country, well adapted to 
stock raising and dairy purposes, which is now be- 
coming the most profitable business in the county. 
A large portion of the farms are stocked with sheep. 

The splendid stock farm of William Lysaght's of 
twelve hundred acres is near the village; he is the 
largest and most successful stock raiser in the state, 
and bases his plans on practical and scientific prin- 
ciples. His influence among the farmers, by his 
knowledge of stock raising, has been a great benefit 
to the town. He is a gentleman of superior educa- 
tional attainments, high minded, reliable and honora- 
ble, having resided here since the first settlement of 
the town. 



480 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 

The raising of stock on small farms is now very ex- 
tensive, and is daily increasing, resulting from the 
continued failure of the wheat crop for the last fifteen 
years. Farmers having thus been forced into the 
stock business have given their land rest, and en- 
riched it, where otherwise it was becoming impover- 
ished by the raising of wheat. 

John Frederick located here in 1847, and built a 
grist mill the next year; he was the first settler on 
land now occupied by the village, and built the first 
dwelling house. In 1848, the village was laid out by 
John Frederick and John Mitchell, owning one-half, 
or twenty acres each. The village was name*., af u- i' 
Frederick's native place, Belleville, Canada West. 
The first marriage solemnized in the village, was by 
the Rev. Matthew Fox., and in Mr. Frederick's house. 

The first store was built in 1847, by John Sylvester, 
and occupied by him till 1857, when he removed to 
Kentucky, his native place. 

The first district school was organized in 1846, now 
district No. 3. A meeting was called for all the legal 
voters in the town, and the attendance was quite large 
for that time. The especial object, aside from the 
organization, was the location of the school. After 
quite a discussion upon the subject, it was found on 
examination that there were but two legal voters, Geo. 
McFadden and ¥m. Morehead, and they located the 
school, However, the remainder retired quietly, and 
were afterwards well satisfied with the location, it be- 
ing near the center of the town. There are now sev- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 481 

en school districts in the town which compare favor- 
ably with any in the county. 

The first school house was built in 1847, an octagon 
building, one story, and intended at that time to ac- 
commodate about forty scholars. The present school 
house was built in 1869, 28 by 36 feet, two stories 
high, and will bear comparison with any village 
school house in the eounty. 

The first religious society formed, or organized 
in the township, was Presbyterian, in 1817, Rev. 
Matthew Fox, pastor. The meetings were held from 
that time until the village was laid out, and the 
school house built, in Geo. MacFadden's barn, at the 
Grand Spring Farm. Mr. Fox continued to preach 
once in two weeks, for some time, with great satisfac- 
tion, till about 1861. He was honored and respected 
by all who knew him, for his energy, manliness, and 
the honesty with which he gave expression to his 
opinions and sentiments. The church is still in a 
prosperous condition, and is composed of some of the 
wealthiest citizens. 

Rev. Matthew Fox speaking of his early ministerial 
work among the pioneer settlers, says: 

Geo. McFadden was one of the early settlers in the section of 
country now known as the town of Montrose; he established him- 
self near the Sugar river some 18 miles S. and E. from Madison. 
There was a large spring, and on that he built his log house. 
At that time there was considerable teaming to the pinery of Wis- 
consin from Northern Illinois. Mr. McFadden's residence was in 
the line of travel, and teamsters used to put up there attracted by 
the spring, his comfortable barn and ample board. The place 

31 



1S2 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 

was known as Grand Spring. Shortly after my arrival in Wiscon- 
sin, in 1845, 1 was invited to preach here, and after some time 
established regular services. For a while I preached in Mr. McFad- 
den's barn, afterwards in Iris house and at a later day in a 
school house. I organized the Presbyterian church (now known 
as the Presbyterian Church of Belleville) in that barn, and there 
administered the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The place where 
Belleville now stands was then a wilderness. 

There was an Indian trail from Second Lake to Sugar river, and 
that trail was my guide in those early days. 1 also preached at the 
Badger mills before the town of Verona was established, and at the 
residence of Mr. George Robinson held regular services. There I or- 
ganized the Presbyterian church, now known as the Presbyterian 
Church of Verona. 

I commenced my ministerial work in the place now known as Ore- 
gon in August, 1845. The bar-room of the Rome house was my 
church. After a year's labor I organized a Presbyterian church. 
Caleb Spooner and Charles P. Moseley were the Elders. The amount 
of salary raised for me during the second year of my ministry at 
Oregon was twenty-seven dollars and fifty cents. But few of the first 
members of the church ar - e now living. In a pastorate of so many 
years, I have witnessed great changes; have had experience of 
great hardships; have received many signal blessings and have had 
many precious evidences of affectionate regard; here I have spent 
the vigor of my life, and here, as the shadows of life's evening are 
gathering, I am waiting for the voice of my Redeemer to call me 
Home. 

In 1856, our house of worship was built; our membership as per 
session record is some 90. 

In 1853, a Free Will Baptist society and church 
was organized here, Rev. Benjamin Davis, pastor. It 
continued but a few years and then died out. 

About 1817, the Methodists began to hold meetings 
here, and have continued to do so with varying suc- 
cess, up to the present. 

In 1856, a Baptist society and church was organ- 
ized, Rev. Mr. Whitman, pastor, and prospered well 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 483 

under his ministration. In 1858, the society, with 
the assistance of each of the other religious bodies, 
built the first church, which was also used by the 
other denominations until 1875. The house at this 
time being badly out of repair, in consequence of a 
number of those who had taken an active interest in 
the church having died, or removed from here, so 
that there were not enough left to interest themselves 
in the necessary repairs, when it was leased to the Sec- 
ond Advent Church and society for ninety-nine years. 
This society was formed about 1858, the Rev. Mr. 
Hitchcock, pastor, and has continued prosperous up 
to the present time. Since the leasing of the church 
to them they have repaired it in a very tasteful man- 
ner, and it is now quite an ornament to the village. 
The Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist still possess 
the right to use it. 

The first physician that settled here was Dr. E. H. 
Osborne, who came in 1817, and lias earned a reputa- 
tion as one of the most successful in Dane county; 
his practice extending over several townships. He re- 
tired from practice in 1874 (on account of failing 
health), with an ample fortune — a large hearted man, 
ever ready to help all enterprises that would be for 
the benefit of his fellow man, and respected by all who 
knew him. 

The cemetery was laid out in 1855, on land bought 
of Wellington Willoughby. Until a few years back 
but little interest was taken in keeping the ground in 
proper repair, but now there is quite a taste awakened 
to suitably ornament the grounds. 



4S4 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTKOSE. 

The first blacksmith shop was built in 1848, by 
Mr. Fuller. He continued in business until 1851, 
when he returned to Ohio. 

The first hotel was built by John "Wood in 1851, 
and to-day will compare favorably with any village 
hotel. It is in excellent condition, and kept in grand 
style by the present owner, S. A. Barker, who has the 
tact and the means to keep a good hotel. 

The first mill built here was by John Frederick in 
1844, a large stone building, but was taken down in 
1870. The present mill was built in 1867, by fm. 
B. Norris, who sold to J. W. Norton in 1870, who 
now owns and oj>erates it. 

This is one of the best water powers on Sugar riv- 
er. There is scarcely one-half the power utillized. 
It is also one of the safest and least expensive, not 
being liable to damage by floods, which speaks well 
for it as one of the best locations for manufacturing 
purposes in Dane county. The business of the vil- 
lage at present is two good general stores, H. E. 
Story and William B. Norris, both doing a good 
business; J. D. Oliver, harness shop, doing a pros- 
perous business; D. S. Smith, wagon shop, doing a 
good paying business; T. B. Withers, blacksmith; 
Geo. Dyson, shoe shop; C. C. Pease, cheese fac- 
tory; Miss A. H. Gassett, millinery goods, and doing 
an excellent business; Miss Kate Sullivan, dressmak- 
er; J. M. Williams, cabinet maker. 

The growth of Belleville has been shown from the 
start, but being located between two railroads forty 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 485 

miles apart, about equal distance between them, it 
very naturally has a tendency to carry immigration 
by to newer places, with better prospects for rail- 
road comforts and conveniences. A route for a rail- 
road was surveyed from Brodhead to the Wisconsin 
river in 1856, and another about the same time from 
Brodhead to Madison. But owing; to bad management 
and local jealousy, it was never completed. The 
present spring another has been surveyed from Brook- 
lyn to Belleville, a branch of the Northwestern, and 
it is hoped may be built. Should we get a road to 
this place, we would in a very few years have the 
largest town in Dane county, judging from the beau- 
tiful location, ease of access, water power, and well 
cultivated lands. 

There are several mounds on the banks of the river, 
some of them have been opened, but nothing new dis- 
covered to give any light on their origin. 

PAOLI BY II. S. TJTLEY. 

Paoli village is situated on the east branch of Sugar 
river, in the town of Montrose, five miles north of 
the county line between Green and Dane counties, 
the river here having; an average width of about 
twenty-five feet and the valley of about two miles. 

Fine farming lands surround the village on every 
side, and within a few years good and substantial 
farm houses and barns have been erected. 

The village was laid out and named by Hon. P. W. 
Matts, in 1849, and a saw-mill put up by him the 



486 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MONTROSE. 

next year. The water power is gained by a race one- 
fourth of a mile long, cutting across a bow in the 
river. The fall is about eight feet. 

The first store was opened by John Mitchell in 
1851. 

In 1S6J: the mill property was bought by the broth- 
ers, B. M. and F. H. Mincli, who put up a substan- 
tial stone grist-mill, using the saw-mill as a storage 
room. They now do business under the firm name of 
B. M. Mincli & Co. 

Others, doing business at present, are the following: 
"Willliam Fischer, Postmaster, dealer in dry goods 
and groceries, and proprietor of the Paoli Cheese 
Factory. William Minch & Co., dry goods, grocer- 
ies and notions. Henry Goodnow, general black- 
smith, light and heavy forging. Solon J. Smith, 
harnessmaker. C. J. Keve, blacksmith. John Mey- 
er, wagonmaker. Milo Sanders, carpenter and joiner. 
Miss Mary J. Ulerich, dressmaker. Miss Lucy San- 
ders, milliner. Mr. Hangartner, shoemaker. Dr. 
George Pickett, physician and surgeon. Frank 
Meng, proprietor and keeper of the hotel. 

Paoli cemetery, one-half a mile south of the vil- 
lage, is regularly laid out with a central park and 
pleasantly situated. 

The St. Kaphael (Catholic) church and parsonage 
are located in a thriving German settlement two and 
one-half miles west of the village. 

The Methodist church was organized about the year 
1850 in the log school house, and one of the principal 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MONTROSE. 487 

preachers of that day was known as Father Fox, a 
very earnest advocate of the gospel, and father of 
Dr. and Rev. Matthew Fox, of Oregon. They now 
have a neat and commodious church building in the 
village. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Burnip. 

The Paoli school house is pleasantly situated on the 
east bank of Sugar river, and consists of two commo- 
dious rooms well furnished, the school being graded 
into two departments during the winter term. The 
assessed valuation of the district is $131,500, and it 
has 108 children. 

Paoli Lodge, No. 177, I. O. G. T., meets every 
Tuesday evening, in M. E. Church. 

Paoli Grange, No. 476, meets Saturday evenings, 
every two weeks, in Solon J. Smith's hall. 

During the winter, the large hall in William Fisch- 
er's Cheese Factory makes a very pleasant place for 
social gatherings. 



488 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DUNN. 



DUNK 

BY WILLIAM E. COLL AD AY, Esq. 

Dunn, or township 6 north, range 10 east of the 
4th principal meridian, lies south of Blooming Grove, 
and Lake Waubesa, or Second Lake, and north of 
Rutland, between Pleasant Springs and Lake Ke- 
gonsa, or First Lake on the east, and the towns of 
Oregon and Fitchburg on the west. 

The original name of this town was Rome, com- 
prising what is now Oregon, Fitchburg and Dunn. 
When set apart from the other towns, Dover was the 
name that was intended to have been given it; but 
in 1848, by mistake of the engrossing clerk of the 
Assembly, it received its present name. 

The surface of this town is somewhat undulated, 
yet not marked by any steep ascents or sterile bluffs; 
but consists of prairie, oak openirgs and meadow land. 
The soil on the prairie and a portion of the lower 
lands is rich black loam, with limy clay and sandy sub- 
soil in the openings. Madison, the University and In- 
sane Asylum can be seen from several points in town. 

The largest stream is the Yahara, or Catfish river, 
which is the outlet of Lake "Waubesa, or Second 
Lake, and runs in a southeasterly direction through 
sections 4, 10, 11, and 14, into First Lake, and then 
winds its way into Rock river. 

On section 10, the river widens and covers an area 
of nearly half a section, or about a mile long and 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DUNN. 4S9 

lialf a mile wide, and is called the " Wide Spread," or 
" Mud Lake." This stream is well wooded on either 
bank with heavy timbers, and a greater portion of the 
way, the banks being high and dry, afford splendid 
facilities for milling purposes. 

The second largest stream is Door Creek, which 
rises on section 7, in the town of Cottage Grove, 
winds its way from the north, through sections 1, 12, 
and 13 of this town, and empties into First Lake. 
Hook Lake covers an area of several hundred acres on 
sections 28, 29, and 32, and is stagnant water, fed by 
small springs and surface water; has no outlet but 
almost evaporates as fast as fed by springs. High 
water occurs only in times of rainy seasons. During 
dry seasons, cranberries are gathered on the marshes. 

These lakes, with the exception of Hook Lake, 
teem with fishes of most every species adapted to fresh 
water, and during the early settlement of this town, 
were so abundant that they could be taken from the 
smaller streams by pitchforks. On the lakes, swans, 
pelicans, geese and ducks were numerous, and the 
woods abounded with bears, wolves, foxes and deer. 

On the west bank of First Lake, on sec. 14 and 23, 
there was at one time a village of Winnebago Indians, 
and numerous trails and relics are still found, as well 
as a number of Indian mounds, or cemeteries, where 
they buried their dead. These mounds are numerous 
on sec. 23, and also on the point that projects into the 
lake from the west. Here they have been opened, and 
remains of Indians found therein, two, three and four 
having been buried in the same grave. Lead ore is 
frequently found on sections ltt and 23, in bulks con- 



490 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DUNN. 

tainting from three to fifteen pounds each. Where it 
came from, or whether mines of this valuable mineral 
exist undiscovered by civilization, we are unable to 
say. Abel Rasdall, an Indian fur trader, was told by 
the Indians that ore did exist in quantities near the 
lake. A few years since we discovered, on the south 
bank of the Catfish river, near the lake, a kiln, or 
place made of stone and clay under ground, where 
lead ore was smelted by the aborigines, and in the im- 
mediate vicinity seemed to be a great resort for tribes 
of savages, as Indian relics are frequently found, such 
as arrow heads, stone axes, etc. 

One of the detachments of the army in pursuit of 
Black Hawk, on his retreat to Prairie du Chien, 
camped for several days on section 27, where they 
felled trees to form a strong corral for their horses. 

The town was first settled by Alvah W. Wetherby 
and family, on section 21, in 1843. The following 
year, Dr. Levi Pritchard settled on section 18; A. 
Witcomb on section 28; Dexter brothers on section 
27; Root brothers, one on section 27, and one on sec- 
tion 7; Richard Palmer on section 18; O. B. Moore 
on section 1; and William M. Colladay on section 27. 
In three or four years after the first settlement, the 
inhabitants seemed to be quite numerous, and in 1848 
there were about twenty-five families settled in what 
is now the town of Dunn. Wetherby having accum- 
ulated property, emigrated in 1858 to California. 
Dr. Pritchard practiced as a homoeopathic physician 
with great success, and gained the respect and esteem 
of the whole country, and against the real wishes of 
the people he emigrated to Missouri, where he died 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DUNN. 491 

about the year 1S70. The Root brothers emigrated 
from here to Oregon. A. \Vitcomb and the Dexter 
brothers (Witcomb's nephews) emigrated to Ne- 
braska. O. B. Moore still resides on his old home- 
stead. He has held the office of chairman of the 
town board of supervisors for several different terms, 
besides various other town offices ; is an energetic Re- 
publican, and strong supporter of education. 

Wm. M. Colladay immigrated from Philadelphia 
to this town and first settled on section 27, where he 
lived for several years. In 1853 he moved on to sec- 
tion 23, bordering on First Lake, where he still re- 
sides; this being one of the finest locations in the 
country. These commodious grounds and pleasant 
scenery make it a pleasant summer resort. Picnics, 
fishing parties, etc., are almost an every day occur- 
rence; at this writing, July, 1877, there are encamped 
on the*e grounds several parties, in all forty- two, with 
nine tents. To give an idea of the natural beauty of 
this place and lake, we here insert a card verbatim, 
from a young man, dated London, England.: 

March 10, 1877. 

Hon. W. M. Colladay and Family. — While here my thoughts 
often revert to my many friends in Wisconsin, and especially to your- 
self and family, and the pleasant occasions spent with you. In all 
my travels in America and this country, I've not seen a place that, 
for natural beauty, equaled yours. If 1 ever reach home again in 
Wisconsin, be assured you will find me again at Colladay 's Point. 

My regards to all the family. Yours respectfully, W. J. P. 

The first town meeting was held at the residence of 
A. W. Wetherby, April 4, 1848; the spring election of 
the territory at which the state constitution was 
adopted. Only twenty-three votes were cast, and the 
following were the first elective officers: R. T. Raw- 



492 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — DUNN. 

son, chairman, "Win. Freeman and Eli Root, super- 
visors; ¥m. M. Colladay, clerk; Norman Farwell, 
Henry Farns worth and Joseph C. Swain, school com- 
missioners; "Wrn. M. Colladay and JR. G. Spaulding, 
justices of the peace; A. W. "Wetherby, treasurer; 
Calvin Farnsworfch, assessor. At the last presiden- 
tial election there were 229 votes cast, and at the last 
local election 216. 

During the earlv history of the town, there were no 
party lines drawn at local elections, but as the Dem- 
ocratic party grew strong, they took matters in their 
own hands. Within the last few years the young 
men have taken an active part in political afl'airs, and 
the Republican party have gained control. 

The first public school was taught at the residence 
of Asa Dexter, by Miss Amanda Soul, now the es- 
teemed wife of Asher G. Greene of this town. The 
district then comprised nearly the whole township. The 
first school district organized was what is now Dis- 
trict No. 4. There are in town six school houses, in- 
cluding two joint districts. The amount expended 
annually for educational purposes is about $1,500. 

The fiist sermon preached w T as at the residence of 
"Win. Slater, about \ 847, by the Rev. Win. Fox, an 
old pioneer Methodist from Ireland. 

There is one church, erected in 1873, at McFarland, 
by the Norwegian Lutherans. The Methodist Epis- 
copal society hold services every other Sunday, alter- 
nately, at Hoffman's Hall and the school house in dis- 
trict No. 4. The present pastor is Rev. W. J. "Wilson. 

In 1855, the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Rail- 
road Company erected a depot on the northeast quar- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS DUNN. 493 

ter of the southeast quarter of section two. The vil- 
lage of McFarland was laid out on section three, by 
Wm. II. McFarland in 1857, and the depot removed, 
and the spacious residence of Mr. McFarland erected. 
The following season he moved his family from Mil- 
waukee to his new home, where he still resides. He 
is a hearty supporter of education, and offers to do- 
nate a site for the erection of a suitable building for 
a public graded school, of which we arc in much need. 
In 1856, Eugene Eighmy bought grain at the old 
depot, and continued to buy after the erection of the 
new depot until the spring of 1859, when Freeman 
Eighmy assumed the business and continues to bny, 
always paying the highest market price for all pro- 
duce, and every man is sure to get full weight. 
All in all, we have the best market in the counhy, 
and a buyer in whom all place the utmost confi- 
dence; and he in return is worthy of their trust, 
he is also proprietor of a lumber yard, where he 
keeps a large stock of first class lumber. In 1868, 
Mr. Eighmy erected a commodious and substantial 
warehouse, in which the capacity for storage is ten 
thousand bushels. Lawrence Eighmy and Philetus 
Hurd, stock buyers, courteous, gentlemen, are always 
ready to pay the highest market price for live stock. 
Eugene Eighmy, a social business man, has a large trade 
in the mercantile business. O. O. Forton also has a 
good trade and large stock of general merchandise. 
H. H. Hoffman has a large convenient store with a 
small stock of clothing and crockery, and a fair trade. 
Lloyd Hurd, an energetic young man, has a good 
business in the harness trade. Lamp, our village 



494 DANE COUNTY TOWNS DUNN. 

smithy, has all the work he can attend to. Shelter 
& Iieid also have a blacksmith shop. Nelson & Han- 
son are proprietors of a - boot and shoe firm. Ed. 
Johnson, dealer in confectionery, boots and shoes. 

Among our most prominent farmers and stock rais- 
ers are Geo. Keenan (the owner of the largest real 
estate and most spacious farm residence in the county), 
Wm. E. Sherlock, Michael Lally, Win. M. Colladay, 
Robt. Henry, Knute Daley, Timothy Cusic, James 
Tusler, Egbert Bennett, Tollif Olson, Morris Brown, 
Geo. Leitch and Calvin Farnsworth. In common with 
other parts of this county, until within a few years, 
the principal crop was wheat; but since, the yield has 
been so seriously affected by the chinch bug and 
other unknown causes, the greater portion of the 
farmers have engaged in raising live stock, and as a 
consequence, have largely increased the acreage of 
coarser grain. Through the courtesy of James Tus- 
ler, the present assessor, we are able to give the offi- 
cial statistics of the acreage of the different agricul- 
tural products of the present } r ear (1877): Wheat, 
1,449; corn, 3,140; oats, 2,542; barley, 718; rye, 117; 
tobacco, 149; potatoes, 107; cultivated grasses, 1,740. 

The following are the names of the present town 
officers: John M. Sampson, chairman, Knute H. Dally, 
and Josiah Douglass, supervisors; Osman T. Olson, 
clerk/ James Tusler, assessor/ Shure Johnson, 
treasurer/ Amos Prentiss, justice of the peace. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS KOXBURY. 495 



KOXBURY. 



BY HON, JOHN T. CLARK. 



Location. — This town is situated in the northwest 
corner of this county; is bounded on the north by the 
town of West Point, in Columbia county, on the east 
by the town of Dane, on the south by the town of 
Berry, and on the west by the town of Mazomanie 
and the town of Prairie du Sac, in Sauk county. It 
is not quite a full township, the Wisconsin river cut- 
ting off the northwest corner of section six. 

The territory which now forms this town was taken 
from the town of Dane, and the name Koxbury was 
given to it on a vote of the residents, at the suggestion 
of James Steele, Esq., who still resides there. At 
the time of its formation, which was in the year 1849, 
all the land lying west of the present town and east 
of the Wisconsin river was attached to Roxburv: but 
in 1863, the strip of land last described was, by an act 
of the legislature, attached to the town of Mazomanie. 

The first officers of the town were: Burke Fairchild, 
chairman; Lorenzo Fan* and Lorenzo D. Miller, 
supervisors; James Crowder, town clerk/ Lorenzo 
Farr, assessor; James Steele, treasurer; Z. Bowers, 
J. Crowder, George Richards and B. Fairchilds, jus- 
tices of the peace. Not a German in the list, while 
now none of the town officer is of any other nation- 
ality, unless lie be American born of German parents. 

Surface and Soil. — The surface is much diversi- 



496 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — KOYBUKY. 

fiecl. The hills frequently rise to a great height, and 
are mostly filled with fine building stone, some of 
which is made into lime of the best quality. Between 
these hills or "bluffs," as they are called, when of con- 
siderable height, the lands are very fertile. Some of 
the best wheat lands are on the top of high hills. 
The land is what is called openings, with here and 
there a few acres which might be termed " prairie." 

On sections one and two is a beautiful sheet of 
water, from its transparency called " Crystal Lake." 
The water of this lake is shallow, extending into West 
Point, and covers about a section of land. 

On sections three and four is another smaller lake, 
covering about a half section of land. This is called 
" Fish Lake," or " Clark's Lake," from the name of 
tlie owner of the land on which it is situated. It is 
not known how deep this lake is. It has been sounded 
to the depth of eighty feet and no bottom found. 
These lakes are well stocked with fish. There is also 
another small lake on sections fourteen and fifteen, 
called " Crane Lake," and in many parts of the town 
there are ponds which, with springs here and there, 
and the "Wisconsin river, supply the stock with water. 

The people, who are almost exclusively Germans, 
are engaged in general farming and grape raising. 
There is no manufacturing carried on, unless under 
that term wine making can be included. It is be- 
lieved that there are more grapes raised in this town 
than in the rest of the county, and perhaps than in 
the whole state besides. Jacob Kehl, who resides near 
Prairie du Sac, has the largest vineyard. All over 
the town may be found sunny slopes where, in the pro- 
per season, hang thousands of r'.ch clusters. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS KOXBUBY. 497 

There is no large village or market place in town. 
Clifton, situated on the Wisconsin river opposite 
Prairie du Sac, and in the very northwest corner of 
the town, was once a promising village, but it has not 
kept pace with the growth of the country about it. 
In the southeast corner of the town is a small village 
called "Alden's Corners." Superior City, on the 
Wisconsin river, was one of the earliest laid out towns 
in the state, and will be hereafter noticed. The only 
stores in town are those of B. Renter, near the church 
and the center of the town, and of P. J. Schleck, near 
the Sauk City bridge. 

The produce raised in this town is marketed at 
Madison, Middleton, Black Earth, Mazomanie, Sauk 
City, Prairie du Sac (which is connected with Portage 
by steam navigation on the Wisconsin river), Lodi, 
Dane station and Waunakee. All points of the com- 
pass compete for what the town can raise. 

On the 21st day of July, 1832, the battle called 
" the battle of Wisconsin Heights," in what is known 
as the Black Hawk war, was fought here, principally 
upon sections 19 and 24, and near the present resi- 
dences of George Richards, Esq., and Richard Taylor. 
A painting of this battle ground, executed by Brooks, 
may be seen at the rooms of the State Historical So- 
ciety at Madison. The thrashing machine represented 
on this painting was on the farm of Mr. Richards. 
The Indians and their pursuers appear to have come 
over the bluff from the southeast. A sort of running 
fight was kept up while the savages were driven 
through the vallev, across the lowlands and the Wis- 
cousin river, and so on to Bad Axe. Many human 

bones, as well as arrow heads and other paraphernalia 
32 



498 DANE COUNTY TOWNS ROXBURY. 

of Indian warfare have been dug up beneath, or found 
on the surface of the earth in this vicinity. 

Superior City. — One of the earliest, largest, and 
most successful paper towns ever laid out in the west, 
was located in this territory, now called Eoxbury. 
It was principally upon section nineteen ; beginning 
near the present residence of P. J. Schleck, Esq., ex- 
tending southward and down the Wisconsin river, cov- 
ering the farm owned by T. M. Warren, Esq., and now 
occupied by John Stein felder, and embracing the Var- 
nell place, spreading over more than three hundred 
acres of land. 

It appears from all accounts that in the year 1837 
or 1838, a company was formed in the eastern states, 
of which company one Floyd seems to have been the 
principal manager, to lay out a town on the Wiscon- 
sin river, either with the honest expectation that such 
town would be built, and legitimate gain be made 
thereby to the proprietors, or with the hope that a 
speculation might be made out of such parties resid- 
ing at the east as had more money and credulity than 
sound judgment. 

This, be it remembered, was at a time when such 
device was new, and no bubble of the kind had ever 
burst in the land. 

The town was christened " Superior City," and a 
most elegant map was made of it, showing the streets, 
the public buildings and parks, the Wisconsin river 
on which steamboats were plying up and down, and 
also navigating the smaller stream, a tributary com- 
ing down from Crane Lake by Father Inama's house, 
on which stream splendid mills were represented 
(which stream, by the way, is dry ten months in the 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS KOXJJUEY. 499 

year), and in general setting out every convenience, 
elegance and attraction which could be placed on paper 
by the most ingenious Yankee. 

All in fact, which had ever been done towards build- 
ing a town, was to stake out the streets, lots, blocks, 
and squares, and to fell some trees and hew them, ap- 
parently with the intention of using the timber in 
building. This was all that was ever done in this 
direction, unless perhaps a shanty was built for the 
laborers who cut and hewed the timber. 

The map was taken to Chicago, ISTew York, and 
Boston, accompanied with the most glowing descrip- 
tions of the beauty, salubrity and commercial advan- 
tages of the city, and large numbers of the lots were 
sold, some at as high figures as $800 each. They were 
sold, too, to persons who had been considered as of 
sound mind. Daniel Webster, " the Godlike Daniel," 
is said to have had about $13,000 in the great city. 

After making the maps and selling the lots, neither 
the proprietors, their agents, "nor any other man," 
came to build the city; the timber was sold by the 
laborers to whom the company was indebted for work, 
or appropriated by such persons as thought they 
needed it. The stakes have long since fallen, and the 
place which knew Superior City " shall know it no 
more forever." 

Early Settlement. — In 18-10, Augustine Harasz- 
thy, commonly known as Count ITaraszthy, with his 
cousin Charles Hallasz, the latter of whom has ever 
since resided and now resides at what is now called 
Sauk City, Hungarians by birth, immigrated to and 
located at the place last named. Haraszthy appears 
to have been a man of great energy and of considera- 



500 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — KOXBURT. 

ble means, and very enthusiastic about the future of 
this country. He invested at once in lands in the 
neighborhood, and set about improvement. So far as 
can now be ascertained, in the fall of 1840, he erected 
the first building in this town, not for a residence, but 
as :i sort of hunting lodge. This was a log building, 
and was set upon a point of the bluff above and near 
the Wisconsin river, and nearly opposite the lumber 
office of Mr. Hallasz, as it now stands in Sauk City. 

During the year 1841, Haraszthy established a ferry 
across the Wisconsin river near or a little below 
where the Sauk City bridge now stands, and the house 
now owned and occupied by P. J. Schleck, Esq., as a 
store, saloon, and post office, was built by Mr. Har- 
aszthy in that year, and used as a ferry house. Rob- 
ert Richards and Jacob Fraelich operated the ferry, 
and resided in this house. This is supposed to have 
been the first dwelling erected in town, and they the 
first residents. At this point two or three Indian trails 
met, and for several years this was the usual crossing 
place. From this date there was little improvement 
in the town for four years. 

The year 1815 determined in a great degree the 
nationality and religion of the population of the town. 
In that year came Father Adelbert Inama, a German 
catholic priest. He had been two years from his na- 
tive land, and those two years had been passed in JSTew 
York. He had come to seek a home in the wilder- 
ness, and to plant and uphold here the standard of the 
cross. He selected for his residence a most romantic 
spot; a little ravine surrounded by hills except where 
at certain seasons of the year, a stream, sometimes 
swelling into a torrent, passes through. Here he still 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS EOXBUET. 501 

lives, with no house in sight except his own, and with 
no clearing except a good sized garden. His cows 
pasture through the woods, and he keeps no horse, 
preferring to walk wherever his duty has called him. 
Here in 1845, he built his log cabin, which looks out 
toward the midday sun. Directly in the rear rises a 
steep bluff covered with timber. You approach the 
dwelling across a foot bridge over the ravine down 
which heavy rains and melting snows hurl their floods 
to the river. After a time he adds at the west end of 
his cabin a kitchen, using his room first built for all 
the purposes of his priestly office. His work grew 
upon his hands, and he joined to the east end of his 
original building an audience room and an altar, the 
two forming his chapel, which, surmounted by a cross, 
is still standing, and in which chapel, till 1853, mass 
was said every day. 

"When Father Inama came, there was but one cath- 
olic in what is now Roxbury; that was one Matthias 
Schmidt, and he soon left. The lone priest made great 
efforts to induce immigration. He entered a consid- 
erable amount of land near the center of the town, 
and allowed those coming in to take it at government 
price. As a matter of course the new comers were 
catholic Germans, and the diligent pastor soon found 
a flock gathering about him. His little chapel in the 
ravine was. visited by those of his faith from all the 
country round. All nationalities, and even some In- 
dians who had been converted through the labors of 
the early missionaries, were glad to find this lonely 
spot where they could receive the rites and enjoy the 
privileges of their mother church. 

So one family after another came, either directly 



502 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — KOXBUKY. 

from Fatherland or from the states, until in the year 
1853, the society was able to complete, near the center 
of the town, the little red brick church, 21 by 80 feet 
in size, which now stands in the rear of the stone 
building, and is occupied by the altar. The growth 
of the society continued until in 1860 it embraced 
from sixty to seventy families, and the little brick 
church having become quite too small, they enclosed 
the present stone front, 41 by 50 feet in size. This, 
with the old church, was used but not finished within, 
till 1866. This society has continued to increase un- 
til now it embraces over one hundred families. They 
have commenced a second addition to the church, the 
foundations of which are already laid, and when com- 
plete they will have a magnificent edifice. The plan 
provides for the removal of the little old brick church 
in the rear, extending; the stone building until its 
length shall be 110 feet, and adding wings so that 
when finished the building will stand on the ground 
in the form of a cross. 

Mention should be made of the fact that this 
church has above its altar what is considered one of 
the finest paintings in America. It is large; there 
are five figures upon it. Above are the Yirgin and 
Child, two beautiful forms; below, on the left, is St. 
Jerome, and on the right are St. James and St. ]STor- 
bert, after the latter of whom the church is named, 
and who is represented with the features of Louis I, 
king of Bavaria. This choice painting was executed 
by an artist in Munich, in 1859, and was sent by said 
king, as a present to this church, in 1860. 

This is the only church edifice in town, though 
th^ere are a few members of other church organizations. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS ROXBURY. 503 

Connected with the church just described, in a com- 
modious stone building, is a school, taught by " sis- 
ters," where the children and youth are instructed in 
the doctrines and faith of their fathers. The town 
has no other school except the common district 
schools, for which there are several fine buildings. 

Father Inama is now in his 80th year. He has 
served this church and the country round about since 
1S45, assisted only for a time by Father Max Gard- 
ner, until 1872, when he was relieved by Father Mat- 
thias Heigl, a young man of fine talents and educa- 
tion, of preposessing personal appearance and cultiva- 
ted manners, who now performs the duties of pastor 
to this lar^e congregation. 

Father Inama born in Tyrol in 1T98, having 
spent five years in Botzen, devoted to the study of 
the classics, four years in Innspruch, given to litera- 
ture and philosophy; to theology one year in Vienna, 
two years in Innspruch and one in Trent, speak- 
ing with fluency several languages, at the age of 
seventy-five years, having ministered in the same 
town for thirty years, and having been largely instru- 
mental in settling that town, and in promoting its 
prosperity, respected and honored by men of all class- 
es and religions, and of no religion, retires to spend 
the remnant of his days in his vine covered cottage, 
surrounded by flowers; in his little chapel daily offer- 
ing prayers for his beloved congregation, with eyes 
scarcely dimmed or strength abated, calmly awaits 
the summons of his Maker. 

The same year in which Father Inama settled in 
Roxbury, also came George Richards, Adolph Fas- 
binder, Carl Schugart, Richard Taylor, — Weber, 



501 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — ROXBUKY. 

— Campbell, James Crowder and Burke Faircliilds. 
In 184:6 came Anton Ganser, T. M. Warren, George 
Baltis, Nicholas Breckendorf, Michel Michel, Michael 
Loeser, Conrad Jordan, and perhaps others. 

From that time the population increased rapidly, 
until from almost every valley and hilltop rose the 
smoke of a I02; cabin. The few Americans who were 
among the early settlers have mostly disposed of their 
property to the Germans, until so far as the language 
spoken and heard in this town is concerned, one might 
as well be in Deutchland. The population at the 
census taken in 1875, was 1,151. 

The inhabitants are generally industrious, econom- 
ical and thrifty. There is almost no litigation in the 
town. There is scarcely any crime to be punished, 
and the public peace is not often disturbed. On spec- 
ial occasions, King Lager in some cases prevails over 
sobriety, and black e} r es and bloody noses abound; but 
the next day all are at work, some, perhaps, with aching 
heads, but such trifles are never brought into court. 
The next Sunday all are at church and in peace. 

The town is rapidly improving; the waste places 
are being cleared out and brought under cultivation; 

CD CD 

the log cabins are fast disappearing, and in their 
places are rising good, substantial buildings, mostly 
of stone, and on every side are found the evidences of 
permanent prosperity. 

Thanks are due for information touching the early 
history and settlement of the town to Charles Hal- 
lasz, Esq., of Sauk City, James Crowder, now of 
Lodi, to Father Inama, and to George Richards, 
Anton Ganser and Horace Miller, Esqrs., of Roxbury. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS OREGON. 505 



OREGON. 

BY DR. I. HOWE. 

Township No. 5 north, range 9 east of the 4th 
principal meridian, is situated in the center of the 
southern tier of townships in the county of Dane. 
The surface is undulating, and was, in the state of 
nature, covered with burr and white oak openings, 
with a few small prairies and marshes. The soil is 
good for most agricultural products, but is not rated 
first class in the county. There are four small creeks, 
outlets to the same number of springs, two of which 
are on section 12, forming the head waters of the Bad- 
fish, and one each on sections 18 and 20. 

Bartley Runey built the first cabin in the township, 
in the fall of 1841, and moved his family, consisting 
of his wife, three boys and four girls, into it in the 
spring of 1842, and opened a tavern. It was located 
on section 24, near the junction of the mail route 
from Madison to Janesville and the road from Min- 
eral Point to Milwaukee, known as the " old lead 
route." It was a favorite stopping place for the 
teamsters hauling that mineral, and many an old pi- 
oneer has seen from ten to fourteen yoke of oxen pull- 
ing one stalled wagon out of the mud near the pioneer 
tavern. His nearest neighbor was "Win. Quivey, in 
town 0, range 9. Mr. Runey was a man of great en- 
ergy, but lived only two or three years after settling 
here. His son Garrett now occupies the old home- 
stead, and few landmarks remain to mark the site of 
the once famous tavern. 



506 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 

The next settler was Robert Thompson, who locat- 
ed, and, with the assistance of Mr. Runey and boys, 
built a cabin on section 12, near a beautiful spring 
which bears his name. The log house is there in good 
preservation, and the spring, as if in mockery of the 
decrepitude that has overtaken the young and robust 
pioneer, still bubbles and sparkles in perennial youth. 
At the close of 1842, Mr. Runey and family and Mr. 
Thompson were the only residents in the township. 

In 1813, the number was increased by the settle- 
ment of Stephen Hook, who located on section 27, 
and Thomas Hook, his brother; also, C. Sargeant, on 
section 31, where he still resides, Abram Kierstead 
and family, consisting of his wife, two sons and three 
daughters who in a few years were married respect- 
ively to three prominent young jnoneers, viz.: Hon. 
S. G. Abbott, Hon. I. M. Bennett and Wm. S. Bed- 
ford, Esq. G. P. Moseley settled that year on the 
present site of the village of Oregon, built a cabin — 
partly frame and partly logs — and opened a tavern. 
This log tavern was the nucleus of the present thriv- 
ing village. Horace Watrous settled on section 1, 
and built a loo; house. Eli Root made a claim on the 
same section, but soon left. Thus ended the pion- 
eer settlement for 1813. 

This number was enlarged in the year 1811 by the 
arrival of Reuben Boyce and family, who settled on 
section 36, where his son Reuben still resides. In a 
few days after his arrival, several members of his fam- 
ily were prostrated, by ship fever, of which two of his 
children died — the first deaths in the township. 

Mr. Boyce was highly respected by the early set- 
tlers. His influence was large and always exerted for 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS OREGON. 507 

their best interests. ¥m. S. Bedford located about 
the same time, on section 35, Stoddard Johnson on 
section 1, and Vra. Cnmmings on section 10, who 
built a cabin. Mrs. Cnmmings killed a large deer 
which had been driven into the door yard and canght 
by the dogs. She achieved a victory, but rumor hath, 
it that in the struggle she lost nearly all the drapery 
with which woman delights to adorn herself. At any 
rate, she beat a hasty retreat on the approach of the 
young and blushing Joseph G. Fox, and would only 
speak to him through a chink in the door. 

W. F. Lee and Schuyler Gilbert came in this year. 
Mr. Gilbert located on section 10, and still owns un- 
der his patent. S. J. Pratt came in September, the 
same year. Landing in Milwaukee, he started on foot 
and alone across lots, and crying, "to find a home." 
Arriving at Runey's in a few days, he located his 
present homestead, and now four generations fre- 
quently gather under his roof-tree. 

About the same time, John S. Frary arrived in 
Milwaukee. Hardly had he stepped on shore when 
he was accosted by a stranger: " Do you want to go 
west, young man?" "West!" cried the weary and 
homesick John; "west! for eighteen long days and 
nights have I sought the west on the fastest convey- 
ances the country affords, and if you have anything 
further west, commend me to the first boat going 
east" But he changed his mind, came with the 
stranger, and in a short time was building his cabin 
on section 24. 1844 closed with less than a dozen 
structures to shelter a civilized man in the township. 

In 1815, the township rapidly settled up. R. Un- 
derwood, wife and two sons — John and Henry — lo- 



508 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 

cated on section 3. John still holds his parchment 
title; Ira Hays and two sons — Enos and Plympton 
— on section 5; R. P. Main on section 24, and six 
brothers, by the name of Devine, on section 23. They 
deserve a far more extended notice than the space al- 
lotted the writer will permit. Joseph Algard and 
famihy settled on section 17; Harry Brown and John 
Ellsworth on section 9, and ¥m. De Boise on section 
8; Amasa Salisbury on section 1; Rufus Rawson on 
section 12, where he built the first blacksmith shop. 
Dick Castleman has the credit also of building this 
first shop. 

In 1845, Nathaniel Ames, three sons and one grand- 
son- — J. IN". Ames — settled in the township. Mr. 
Ames was born in 1761, joined the revolutionary 
army, saw Washington when he visited the winter 
quarters of his arm} 7 near Morristown, 1ST. J., witnessed 
the execution of Major Andre, and died in Oregon 
August 27, 1863, at the great age of one hundred and 
two years and four months. When asked by one of 
his neighbors to what he ascribed his long life, he 
quietly and philosophically replied: " I have always 
slept well." 

Rev. Matthew A. Fox came in August, 1845, and 
a few clays after, held his first service in the log cabin 
of Mrs. Kelloo-a*, the occasion being the funeral of 
her husband. His next service was in the bar room 
of C P. Moseley's tavern. In 1856, the first church 
was built, and he was installed as pastor, which posi- 
tion he has acceptably and usefully filled to the pres- 
ent time. The church stands within a few rods of the 
cabin in which he performed his first sorrowful ser- 
vice. Many of his early pioneer friends have been 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 509 

carried through its portals to their last resting place, 
for whom he has performed a like sad service, and it 
seems as though his labors might end almost on the 
spot where they commenced. 

J. W. Scovill opened the first store in the township, 
in the fall of 1845, on section 21, or the "Hollow." 
He chopped the logs, split the puncheons for the floor 
and rived the shakes himself. After it was raised and 
completed, he went to Racine for his stock. During 
his absence, Mrs. Scovill papered it throughout with 
Albany Evening Journals. How the heart of the ven- 
erable j'T. W." would swell to know his paper had 
served so good a purpose! The enterprising young 
merchant, by thus surrounding his customers with 
sound Whig doctrine, insensibly led them to vote that 
ticket, and from its organization the town has been 
"Whig or Republican by large and uninterrupted ma- 
iorities. What might have been the result had the 
good lady used the Albany Argus? 

Rosel Babbitt and Seba T. Lewis opened farms this 
year on sections 14 and 15. Mr. Lewis was accident- 
ally killed in his well by the fall of a bucket. Eph- 
raim Newton and perhaps two or three others located 
in 1845. 

Joseph G. Fox returned from Ireland with his young 
bride in the fall of 1845 and commenced housekeeping 
in the first frame house in the township. He had it 
erected during his absence. His brother James set- 
tled near him about the same time. At the close of 
1845, pioneer life in the township was about closed. 
Mills were being erected on the Catfish and Sugar 
rivers, post offices conveniently established, merchants 
and mechanics commencing business, roads laid out 



510 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 

and bridges built, and the gospel preached by numer- 
ous missionaries who heard with delight the crowing 
of the unwary spring chicken. 

The glowing descriptions of the salubrious climate, 
fertile, soil and abundance of game, sent through the 
mail or carried by those returning for their families 
or sweethearts, produced its effect in 1846 and 7, and 
friends, relatives and neighbors hastened to possess 
the remaining unoccupied lands. All the conveniences 
of older settlements were here, or in the near future, 
except a market, and they cared little for that in com- 
parison with the prosperity that surely awaited them. 
With strong hearts and willing hands they toiled on, 
and are to-day reaping the rewards of their enterprise 
and self-denial. During these years, among those who 
came to stay, are L. M. Storey, T. Storey, Samuel 
Shepard, Smith Patchin and Daniel McKeeby. They 
settled near together, and the settlement was called 
Storeytown. E. W. Dwight, Phineas Baldwin, father 
and three brothers, came still later. In 1846, I. M. 
Bennett opened a store in " Pome Corners," and laid 
the foundations of his large fortune, and a few years 
later Wm. S. Bedford engaged in the same business. 

The first marriage solemnized in the township was 
in the first log house built therein; the happy parties 
being David Anthony and Jane Puney. A Pev. Mr. 
Miner, of Madison, performed the ceremony. On his 
way to Mr. Puney 's, his horse got mired in the Nine 
Spring creek. Unable to extricate him, he started on 
foot to fulfill his agreement. At Lake Yiew he sent 
assistance to his horse, which was found dead. Wearily 
walking on, he reached Mr. Runey's about 11 o'clock 
at night, wet, muddy and exhausted. He performed 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 511 

his work so well, however, that David and Jane to-daj 
enjoy a well earned competence in peace and content- 
ment. The first piece of cloth was woven by Mrs. 
Sophia Underwood, who now lives with her son Hen- 
ry, on a loom made by Enos Hays, the first of its kind 
in the township. The first public religious service 
was held in Barney's bar room, by a Methodist mis- 
sionary by the name of Hawks; and the first parties 
to a law suit were J. S. Frary vs. B. Buney. 

In this narative, the writer has found no place to 
speak of the real pioneers of the present town of Or- 
egon — the noble band of women who came with or 
followed their husbands and lovers to this wilderness. 
They suffered the real hardships and privations of 
pioneer life. They, unmindful of storms without or 
minor distress within, gathered little delicacies and 
needful articles, and visited and assisted the sick and 
suffering, though frequently miles away. Every old 
settler's memory is filled with recollections of their 
gentleness, their kindness, their charity. Many of 
them have found the repose of death, but those who 
live are thrice blessed by those who received and now 
live to testify to their noble and unselfish labor. 

The political history of the township is short. To 
gratify the young and enthusiastic pioneers' longing 
for ballot-boxing, towns 5 and 6 of range 9, and town 
6 of range 10, were formed into an election precinct 
in 1846, and at the suggestion of J. N. Ames, was 
called Koine, from which fact the present village of 
Oregon was then called " Borne Corners." In 1847, 
Bosel Babbitt circulated a petition for separate town- 
ship organization under the name of Oregon, which was 
adopted at the town meeting held in April, and Beii- 



512 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 

ben Boyce elected chairman. Then " local self gov- 
ernment" became fairly established, and as it consists 
mainly in electing officers and paying taxes, the ballot- 
boxing pioneer has no reason to regret his work, if its 
success is measured by the numbers of the one or the 
magnitude of the other. 

OREGON BY T. E. THOMPSON. 

This pleasant little village of about 500 inhabitants 
is situated in the midst of a fertile agricultural region, 
in the southern part of the county, ten miles from the 
capital city, and is the second station on the Madison 
division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. 
A drive on the highway through Lake View to the 
City of the Lakes in summer is most delightful. Green 
meadows and waving fields of grain are seen on every 
side, and neat white farm houses dot the landscape in 
every direction; and here and there are to be seen a 
few of the ancient landmarks of the mound builders, 
some still intact, while others have lost their distinct- 
ness by being put to useful purposes by the husband- 
man, to which occasional glimpses of the glistening 
waters of the lakes Waubesa, Monona and Mendota, 
and the city in the distance with its Capitol, Univer- 
sity, Churches and other public buildings are brought 
into view, presenting to the traveler a scene of pastoral 
beauty unsurpassed in the state. 

The first settlement of this town begun in about the 
year 1842, thirty-six years ago. Prominent among 
the first settlers may be mentioned C. P. Moseley, 
Robert Thompson, J. S. Frary, S. J. Pratt, Abraham 
Kiersterd, W. S. Bedford, Roswell Babbitt, Phineas 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 513 

Baldwin, E. P. Main and E. "W. Dwiffht. The 

Boyces, Tipples, Johnsons, Hooks and Foxes were all 
pioneers and early identified with its history, having 
witnessed its gradual development and improvement 
np to the present time. 

The surface of the country is slightly undulating, 
with a good soil of sandy loam, specially adapted for 
agricultural purposes, consisting chiefly of oak open- 
ings, diversified by small prairies and marshes. 

The little settlement first took the name of Rome 
Corners, being a central point of the surrounding 
towns, which were known only by numbers, as town 
No. 4, 6, etc. 

I. M. Bennett, now of the banking firm of Bennett 
& Pullen, of Evausville, Wisconsin, kept the first 
country store in a little log building where now stands 
the Oregon Exchange,- and which was the objective 
point of trade for the scattered settlers. J. B. Runey, 
one of the oldest pioneers, settled near the center of 
the township in the spring of 1842, and built the first 
log house on the old territorial road running from 
the lead regions near Dodge ville to Milwaukee, and 
which was a stopping place for teamsters drawing lead 
to market. The nearest house was five miles distant, 
in what is now known as the town of Fitchburg, and 
w T as also kept as a tavern by a man by the name of 
Quivey. Mr. Runey was killed a few years later 
while returning home from Madison, by the overturn- 
ing of his wagon near the Nine Spring marsh, on 

what was afterwards called Break Neck Hill. The 
33 



514 DANE COUNTY TOWNS OREGON. 

Devines, a family of six brothers, emigrated from 
Pennsylvania about the year 1845, and settled together 
near the center of the town, and are now thrifty and 
prosperous farmers. Mr. Joseph Devine at one time 
traveled with an ox team as far as Delavan to mill, 
sixty miles distant, and frequently to Janesville, at a 
later period. There were no other mills in that sec- 
tion, with the exception of the Badger Mills, where a 
small business was done. The nearest market was at 
Milwaukee, ninety miles distant, a trip with an ox 
team consuming ten to twelve days, the teamsters 
often camping by the roadside. Wheat only brought 
from 20 to 25 cents per bushel. Dressed pork, $1.25 
per hundred pounds, and frequently the proceeds of 
the sale would not amount to more than the expenses 
of transportation. A story is told of a man who hired 
a load of wheat taken to market, agreeing to pay 
twenty cents per bushel transportation. When the 
teamster returned he asked his employer if he had a 
quarter of a dollar, remarking as he received it, " Now 
that makes you and me square." The load of grain 
did not pay the expense of transportation. Almost 
the only way that anything could be realized from a 
trip, was to bring back emigrants or a little merchan- 
dise for the country stores along the route. 

Nathaniel Ames, for two years and a half a soldier 
of the Revolution, and present at Tarrytown at the 
execution of Major Andre, and whose portrait adorns 
the State Historical rooms, settled here at an early 
period, and also many of his descendants. He died 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS OREGON. 515 

August 27, 1863, at the advanced age of 102 years, 
and was buried with Masonic honors. 

The business transacted in this town is quite large, 
it being the nucleus of trade for a considerable sec- 
tion of country around, and is an extensive ship- 
ping point for live stock to the Chicago market, the 
shipments exceeding those of any other station be- 
tween there and Chicago. During the shipping sea- 
son twenty- seven car loads of stock have been shipped 
in one day,, but the usual number is about fifteen per 
week. It was at one time a great market for wheat, 
as many as 100 car loads being shipped monthly. 
The grain shipments are now confined mostly to oats, 
of which a great many are received at this station. 
A fine brickyard, owned by J. B. Munger, is in suc- 
cessful operation, and where are manufactured a supe- 
rior quality of white brick, said to be equal to the 
famous Milwaukee brick, large shipments being made 
annually to all parts of the country. There are two 
hotels, the Oregon Exchange being the principal one, 
kept by Richard Chandler, familiarly and widely 
known by his friends as "Dick," is one of the best 
country hotels in the state, and travelers find here a 
comfortable and home-like stopping place, with a 
genial host ever ready to minister to the wants and 
comfort of his guests. The religious element is rep- 
resented by two churches, one of the Presbyterian 
and the other of the Methodist denomination, presided 
over by able pastors. There is also a fine school build- 
ing consisting of four departments, in charge of capa- 



51G DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OREGON. 

ble and efficient teachers, and a Masonic and Good 
Templars Lodge, both in a flourishing condition. 

The pioneer meeting and pic nic here in July, 1875, 
was a gratifying success in every particular, it being 
the first assemblage of the kind ever held in this sec- 
tion. Fully four thousand people were in attendance 
from the surrounding towns and villages. The gov- 
ernor of the state and other distinguished personages 
arrived on the morning train from Madison, and 
were welcomed by a large concourse of the tillers of 
the soil, with music and banners. At about ten 
o'clock, a large procession was formed with a detach- 
ment of horsemen in front, followed by every con 
ceivable kind and description of vehicle, loaded with 
sturdy yeomarry, taking up its line of march to a 
beautiful grove near the village, where appropriate 
exercises were held, consisting of music, and short 
speeches commemorative of the early settlement of 
the country. 

A prominent feature of the procession were the ox 
teams drawing full loads of pioneers, with their wives 
and blooming daughters. To one was attached a sled, 
used by one of the oldest settlers when he first came 
into the country, upon which were seated the wife 
and two grandchildren. In one of the wagons drawn 
by oxen, was the governor and other invited guests. 
The weather was most auspicious, and every one 
seemed happy and determined to make happy all 
those around them. At the close of the day, the ex- 
pression was universal that it was the most social and 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS OREGON. 517 

enjoyable gathering ever brought together, and an 
event long to be remembered in the history of Oregon. 
Among the business establishments may be enu- 
merated the following: Shepherd & Tracy, dealers in 
dry goods, groceries and general merchandise; C. W. 
Netherwood, postmaster, and proprietor of Nether- 
wood's Hall, a commodious hall used for lectures, the- 
atrical entertainments and balls ; Isaac Howe, groceries, 
drugs and medicines; J. T. Hayes, harness maker, has 
an extensive establishment, and does a large business 
in his various lines; Mrs. A. P. Johnson, milliner; C. 
H. Cronk, station agent; J. W. Scoville, dealer in dry 
goods, groceries, crockery and glassware; M. C. Sal- 
mon, furniture; F. W. Coward, boot and shoemaker; 
T. Boyd Cowdry, merchant tailor and dealer in gen- 
tlemen's furnishing goods; J. M. Doolittle, meat 
market; C. E. Powers, restaurant and confectionery; 
A. B. Marvin, grain and poultry dealer; Gr. W. Getz, 
wagon and carriage maker; Lindsay & Terwilliger, 
dealers in dry goods, groceries, yankee notions, etc.; 
F. D. Powers, attorney; E. L. Booth, boot and shoe 
maker; Miss O. M. Postle, milliner and dress" maker; 
H. B. Richards, grain dealer; AVm. H. Myers, car- 
riage maker; J. H. Coward, boot and shoe maker; A. 
W. Herbert, spring bed factory; Johnson & Beckley, 
milliners and dressmakers; Isaac Johnson, confection- 
ery, flour and feed; H. PI. Marvin, dealer in hard- 
ware, tin ware and agricultural implements; Tipple 
& Emmons, stock buyers; Lovejoy & Richards, lum- 
ber dealers; Algard & Chandler, stock buyers; P. 



518 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — OKEGON. 

Hayes, proprietor of the Oregon Hotel, opposite the 
depot. There are also two physicians, an insurance 
agent, three blacksmith shops, and a livery establish- 
ment. 

The hardy pioneers who suffered all the pnvations 
and hardships attending the settlement of a new coun- 
try, and who have witnessed its gradual growth and 
development, now enjoy the fruits of their labor, as 
the well cultivated farms and comfortable homes 
attest their growing prosperity and happiness. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLACK EARTH. 519 



BLACK EARTH. 

BY CLARENCE BURNETT AND A. J. FULLERTON. 

JSTot a very remarkable village; yet, from its pic- 
turesque appearance, nestling between huge chains of 
bluffs, its cosy dwellings, its excellent water power, 
and its sprightly business aspect, is one to excite in the 
mind of the visitor a desire to know something of its 
history. Hence this sketch. 

The ground it now occupies was formerly the home 
of the "Winnebago Indians. They were a peaceable 
tribe, and gave very little annoyance, save by their 
incessant begging, and their propensity for " borrow- 
ing." Many amusing anecdotes are told of them by 
early settlers, but our limited space forbids their men- 
tion. The region abounds in Indian mounds; but 
perhaps the most remarkable among them is that just 
south of the village, which represents the prostrate 
form of a human being, and is several rods in length. 
It is supposed to mark the last resting place of one of 
their numerous chiefs. 

About 1842 Solomon Hayden made his appearance 
upon the site which is now known as JBlack Earth. 
"With him he brought one Charles Turk, and they 
commenced the toilsome work of rearing a home and 
clearing ground upon which to raise such articles as 
are necessary to existence. Mr. H. has the credit of 



520 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLACK EARTH. 

building tlie first house within the present township 
limits. It was a primitive structure, such as all of 
us are more or less familiar with, and such as to-day 
would seem impossible to class among what are 
known as residences. But in those days a house was 
valued more for the shelter it gave than for its comely 
appearance. It occupied a spot of ground just 
south of the present residence of Mr. John Hill. 

Just previous to the building of Mr. Hayden's 
house — about October, 1843 — Mr. Henry Wilson 
arrived from New York, together with his family. 
He found himself in a strange country, almost unin- 
habited, and without any means of sheltering himself 
from the storms of the coming winter. Something 
must be done, and Mr. W. at once set about building r, 
temporary abiding place. When completed it was more 
a wigwam than anything else, being built of such 
loose material as could be readily found, and covered 
with the dry grass of the marshes, close at hand. 
Here he wintered his family, cooking in the open air, 
and getting along with inconveniences as only pioneers 
can. This will explain the allusions often made to 
Mr. Wilson's spending his first Wisconsin winter in 
a hay stack. In the spring following, on the comple- 
tion of Mr. Hayden's house spoken of, the family 
were moved to it, and there remained until Mr. Wil- 
son's return from Milwaukee and other points, where 
he had gone to purchase such articles as were needed 
in clearing the land which he had settled upon. 

A start once made, the valley was rapidly settled. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLACK EAKTII. 



521 



A few years later Mr. O. B. Ilaseltine came here from 
Vermont, and took up land; and to him attaches great 
importance in Black Earth's history. Under his di- 
rection, in August, 1850, the original village plat was 
made. It was surveyed by David B. Jarvis, then 
county surveyor, and was composed of six blocks, 
comprising the southeast quarter of the southeast 
quarter of section twenty-six, township eight north, 
of range six east. The village took its name from a 
creek, which passed through it, but was afterwards 
changed to Ray, and then again to Black Earth, un- 
der which, in 1857, it was incorporated, with George 
High as president. The incorporation act was for 
some reason done away with, and it has since remained 
as it now is. The several additions were made in 
subsequent years, but no particular importance attaches 
to them. 

The next stride cityward was a grist mill. Seeine; 

v CD O 

the need of such a branch of industry, Mr. John B. 
Sweat purchased of Mr. Haseltine the site and privi- 
leges of the present mill company, and built the mill. 
This he conducted for some length of time, when he 
sold it to Mr. John Wall, who after building a small 
addition, transferred it to its present owners, Messrs. 
Stanford, Logan & Co. The mill as it now is has a 
reputation well to be envied, and is doing a very ex- 
tensive business, not only doing the custom milling 
for a large scope of country, but shipping large 
quantities of fine quality of flour to the eastern 
markets. 



522 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLACK EAKTII. 

Then followed a business venture in the form of a 
" country store," Elias Pound being the proprietor. 
His place of business was where now stands the resi- 
dence of Mr. M. H. Myers. Old settlers tell what 
are to us marvelous stories of the sale of eggs at three 
cents per dozen, butter at three cents per pound, and 
other things proportionately. Success attending Mr. 
Pound, others were not slow to see it, and soon after- 
ward Messrs. High & Barber established themselves 
in business. 

Our first hotel was the building which, with sundry 
additions, is now the residence of Mr. J. Q. Stuart. It 
was kept by Mr. Jared Peck. The next was the hotel 
which now stands and is known as the Yalley House. 
This we believe was first kept by Mr. Thomas Barber. 
Perhaps none of our "old timers" have acquired a 
stronger hold upon the affections of the people than 
Mr. B. This gentleman came over from England in 
1S48, arriving just in time to vote on the admission 
of our state into the union. For eight years he tilled 
the soil, marketing his products in Milwaukee, and 
frequently not getting enough for the load to pay the 
expenses of the trip. In 1S54, he moved to the vil- 
lage and engaged in the hotel business, and afterward 
established the hardware establishment, in which he 
has since remained. 

In the year 1845, the first school house was built. 
It was a modest looking structure, and in keeping 
with the other buildings of that day. It was situ- 
ated between the present farm residences of James 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLACK EARTH. 523 

and John Turk. For several years, the building 
served as a temple of learning and as a house of wor- 
ship. "With the increase of population came a de- 
mand for more commodious quarters, which were 
provided about 1853. This was a frame building, 
within the village limits, upon the present school lot. 
This in turn became as inadequate to the demands as 
had the old one in its day, and in 1859 an excellent 
two story brick building was made in its place, and 
the old building sold to the people of Peter C. Paul- 
son's district, town of Vermont, where it was re- 
moved early in the following year. Dr. S. L. Hooker 
and his estimable lady were the first to take charge 
of affairs in the new building, and right well did they 
perform their duties. In 1874, a wing was added and 
the school divided into four departments, in which 
form it now remains, a pride to every citizen. 

In the year 1856, the Milwaukee & Mississippi 
Eailroad, now Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road, reached Black Earth. It was the original in- 
tention of the managers to put up a large depot, 
round house, etc., provided the land could be pro- 
cured at reasonable figures. The owner of the land, 
in his cupidity, demanded an exorbitant sum for the 
ground desired, which so enraged the company's man- 
agement that they refused to do more than put in a 
side track, and the citizens were compelled to erect 
the first depot building. For many years this bitter 
feeling existed toward the village, and but little was 
done by the company in way of improvements until 



524 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLACK EARTH. 



tlie extent of the patronage compelled the company 
to look more favorably upon the village. Until 
within the past five or six years, during which time 
the chinch bug has almost entirely destroyed the 
wheat crop in this vicinity, Black Earth has ranked 
among the greatest shipping stations on the line. At 
present, live stock is its chief export. During the 
year 1876, there were shipped 91 cars of hogs and 85 
cars of cattle, while only about 38,000 bushels of 
wheat were shipped. The total freight shipments 
amounted to 6,373,710 pounds. The receipts for the 
same period were 2,700,295 pounds. 

At the time this sketch is penned, the popula- 
tion of the town is about 1,000; the village claiming 
a little over one-half of the number. The population 
is mixed, being made up principally of Americans, 
Norwegians, Germans and English. But little man- 
ufacturing is carried on, except in those branches de- 
pendent upon the agricultural people for support. 

The business of the village at the time of this writ- 
ing may be summed up as follows: Isaacson & JNTord- 
riim, J. Bjornstad & Co., K. Eriekson, Julius Weis- 
senborn, dry goods and groceries; T. Barber & Son, 
hardware; J. Ilolden, drugs; A. P. "Winden, merchant 
tailor; A. II. Anderson, confectioner and barber; 
J. Schanel, furniture; Mrs. E. S. Parker, Mrs. H. Pir 
per, millinery; Miss E. H. Richards, Miss Mary Se- 
verson, dress making; George Zcller, hotel; Burnett 
tfc Son, publishers Advertise?' and general steam print- 
ing; C. Lange, Ed. Kirst, harnessmakers; K. J 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLACK EARTH. 525 

Mjelde, Gilbert Anderson, R. Lutzow, shoemakers; C. 
Peters, photographer; Oie Rustebakke, jeweler; Peter 
Johnson, general machine shop; F. Yoss, O. J. Wick, 
M. Hanson, blacksmiths; U. D. Wood, P. Johnson, 
planing mills; M. H. Myers, Ole Jordet, wagonmakers; 
John Peterson, carpenter; John Muskat, A. A. Steens- 
rnd, Paul Copley, Meltzer & Peterson, saloons; Stan- 
ford & Logan, Ward Brothers, Isaacson & Nordrum, 
grain buyers; John Adams, Isaacson & Nordrum, 
Stanford & Logan, stock buyers; Ward Brothers, 
George Bate, lumber; Stanford, Logan. & Co., flour 
mill; E. II. Sackett, saw and carding mill; U. P. 
Stair, W. IT. Bobbins, physicians; S. Charlesworth, 
lawyer and insurance agent; Man waring, Beatty Sz 
Wilson, proprietors Black Earth cheese factory; F. 
Hickstine, butcher; S. Barker, drayman; William 
Showers, cooper. 

Its public edifices are, three churches — Methodist, 
Congregational and Episcopal — a fine school build- 
ing, with four separate departments, and a two-story 
town hall, situated in the center of a beautiful park. 

With a good location, a splendid surrounding coun- 
try, excellent water power, and all advantages given 
by nature, the subject of this meagre sketch can well 
claim a place in the front rank of Dane county vil- 
lages. 



526 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — PRIMROSE. 



PRIMROSE. 

BY HON. G. TOLLEFSON. 

This township lies in the southwestern part of the 
county, on its south boundary line, which separates 
it from the town of New Glarus, Green county, about 
eighteen miles southwest of Madison, and known as 
township 5 north, of range 8 east. The town is well 
watered in the northern part, by the Avest branch of 
the Sugar river, and also by two tributaries of the 
same, furnishing the town with an abundance of 
water and good marsh land. The face of the country 
is undulating, agreeably diversified with oak open- 
ings and prairie. There is considerable highland or 
small ridges, in which there is excellent stone for 
building purposes. 

On section eleven there is a large rock that stands 
out in strong contrast with its surroundings, and is 
composed of several blocks of stone, raised one above 
the other to the height of about fifty feet, the lower 
one of which measures nearly twenty-five feet in di- 
ameter, while the top block is about fifty feet. It is 
familiarly called the " Devil's Chimney," because of 
its supposed resemblance to the form of a chimney. In 
1850 a man named Joel Blitz, said to be an old sailor, 
climbed to the top by means of ropes w r hich were 
thrown over it and fastened on the ground on the 
opposite side. He planted a flag on the top, the staff 
of which is still remaining. The feat was never 
known to have been done before or since. The base 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PRIMROSE. 527 

of this chimney is, like many other noted places of 
historical interest, covered with a profusion of names 
and dates from all over the United States. 

Mount Julia, another of the curiosities of the town, 
is an oblong ridge of rock, surmounted with trees, 
about 200 feet high, 250 feet broad, and about 1,600 
to 1,700 feet long. It is, in some places, somewhat 
precipitous, indeed it indicates as if it had at a very 
recent date been entirely so, but from the wash by 
rains from the top, it is now quite accessible. 

The first settlers in the town of Primrose were Da- 
vid Thomas and family, Robert Speers and family, 
W. Speers, Edmund Speers, W. Underbill, Robert 
Harrington, Mr. Scoville, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Peck and 
Hall C. Chandler. Mr. R. Speers gave the town its 
name. 

Of the Norsemen, who now constitute a large ma- 
jority of the population of Primrose, Christian Hen- 
drickson from Lier, Norway, was the first settler. 
He came here in 1846, and still lives on his old farm. 
Two years later — 1848, more Norsemen arrived, 
among whom were Niels Evenson, Salve Jorgenson, 
Niels N. Skogen, who were followed in 1S49 by Gu- 
nolf Tollefson and Peter Haslerud. When Mr. Tol- 
lefson bought his land, only 80 acres had been pur- 
chased in the town, the other settlers having only 
preempted the jneces of land on which they were liv- 
ing. 

The first school house was built on section 17, in 
1847, but the town now has seven school houses. 
The first teacher was Gunnuld Jackson. 

The first church in Primrose was built by the Norse 
Lutherans. The name of the congregation was : " The 



528 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — PRIMROSE. 

Primrose Norse Evangelical Lutheran Congregation ;" 
it was connected with the Norse Evangelical Luther- 
an Church of North America, and the church edifice 
here referred to, was erected in 1856 on section 21. 
The first minister who preached to an organized con- 
gregation was Elling Eielson. The second pastor of 
this congregation was Arne Boyum. The third was 
Ole Torgerson, and its present minister is P. Solberg. 

A few years after the organization of the above 
named congregation, another Norse Lutheran Church 
was organized in this town by the Pev. A. C. Preus. 
This one joined the so-called Norse Synod. Its sec- 
ond pastor was P. M. Brodahl, and its present preach- 
er is John Field, of the Norse Synod. This congre- 
gation erected in 1866 a church, which was consumed 
by fire in 1873, and has not been rebuilt. 

Finally, there is a third Norse Lutheran congrega- 
tion, which was organized in 1869, by Pev. C. L. Clau- 
sen; its second pastor was Prof. A. Weenaas, and its 
present preacher is M. F. Gjertsen of Stoughton. 
From the above it appears that the statement in the 
Dane County Atlas " that Pev. A. C. Preus was the 
first Lutheran pastor in Primrose " is incorrect. 

There has always existed the best of feeling between 
the different nationalities in Primrose. To this there 
is but one exception. In the small village of Mt. Ver- 
non, whereof a part is situated within the limits of 
the town, there lived in the early days of Primrose a 
man called Dr. Byam, and with him his two brothers 
and their families, all Americans. Dr. Byam and his 
brothers had, by their tricky and dishonest practices, 
and by repeated acts of rascality toward the citizens 
of the town, made themselves odious to such an ex- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PRIMROSE. 529 

tent that the farmers decided to get rid of them. So 
they got together, about seventy in number, with 
Dick Chandler as their chosen leader. On the even- 
ing agreed upon they proceeded to Dr. Byam's house, 
armed with axes, crow-bars and other weapons, and 
asked to speak with him. The rascal, who suspected 
what was in store for him, sent his wife to the party 
outside with the answer that he was not at home. 
But the farmers were not to be bluffed off in this 
manner, and when he refused to come out they began 
to tear down the house, and were about throwing it 
into the stream near by. Fear now seized the doctor, 
and lie came out, upon the pledge of three farmers 
that no harm should be done to him before they had 
properly discussed the matter. He had to go with 
them into the flour mill near by. Here he was tried 
and found guilty of several grossly dishonest transac- 
tions, among which it was proved that he, with a 
patent churn, had defrauded several farmers of their 
lands. The sentence was that Dr. Byara, his brothers 
and their families must leave Mt. Yernon and Primrose 
within twenty-four hours, and the rascal was prudent 
enough to obey this decision. One of Dr. Byam's 
brothers was tarred and feathered, and the other, who 
also defied the will of the farmers and came back to 
town after a load of hay, was also made to feel that 
the farmers were in earnest when they forbade any of 
the Byams returning to Primrose. As soon as he 
had gotten the hay into his w r agon, the farmers set 
fire to it. The horses ran away, as a matter of course, 
when the hay-load got to burning, and the man had 
to save his life as best he could by taking to his legs. 
Since that time none of the brothers Byam have made 
34 



530 DANE COUNTY TOWNS PRIMROSE. 

any attempt to settle in Primrose. Of course the 
Byam brothers brought suit against the seventy farm- 
ers, but the latter employed George B. Smith, of Mad- 
ison, as their lawyer, and the case ended in an almost 
complete acquittal of the farmers. Thsy simply had 
to pay the costs of the suit. Although the action 
taken against Mr. Byam and his brothers doubtless 
was perfectly just, the citizens of Primrose of to-day 
have changed their opinion in reference to ways and 
means, and would not again take the law into their 
own hands to protect themselves against vagabonds 
and rascals. 

Another circumstance that took place in the pioneer 
days of our town, was a conflict between Primrose 
and the adjoining town of Montrose. An old man, 
by name Mr. Jackson, in Primrose, owned a claim 
covered with good oak timber. This timber some of 
the settlers in the town of Montrose tried to get pos- 
session of, and so they came up in tolerable large 

numbers, having Mr. L for their leader, and 

equipped with teams, sleds, axes, etc., so as to be 
able to take all the logs down to Montrose. As soon 
as the people of Primrose found this out, the mes- 
sage of " war," was sent from neighbor to neighbor 
throughout the town, and an army was soon brought 
together. The end of the war was that the Montrose 
party had to go home with their sleds empty, while 
the Primrose people took the logs home to Mr. Jack- 
son's house. 

Politically, we have had many interesting incidents 
but none quite as rich as the following, told from 
Blue Mounds, our neighboring town. 

It was the day before election. Mr. Dean and Mr. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS PRIMROSE. 531 

Burdick of Madison, both candidates for office, came 
to Blue Mounds to naturalize a number of Nor- 
wegians. The Norwegians, thirty or forty in number, 
were placed in a row and all sworn in at once, upon 
which Mr. Dean passed up the line, handing to each 
man his certificate of naturalization, and the ticket he 
wanted them to vote the next day, urging them to be 
sure to vote the ticket he s^ave them and no other. 
The new-fledged citizens being very conscientious and 
anxious to keep their pledges, appeared at the polls 
the next day; but the returning board were the ones 
who were surprised when they came to count the 
votes in the evening, and found that some of them 
had voted their naturalization certificates instead of 
tickets. The Norwegians in Primrose never were 
quite as conscientious as that. 

In Primrose no one has ever had license to sell any 
kind of intoxicating drink. 

All the. factories we have is a flour mill on section 
seven, built in 1858. 

The Hon. Gunolf Toleffson was the first member of 
the legislature. 

S. Julie is a practicing physician in this and ad- 
jacent towns. 



532 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BLOOMING GEOYE. 



BLOOMING GEOYE. 

BY JAMES KAVANAUGH, 

This township is one of the most interesting por- 
tions of Dane county, which, from its early occupation 
by the natives and the unmistakable evidences of 
their rude productions that have been found from 
time to time, render it full of studious contemplation 
and instruction. Its proximity to the beautiful city 
of Madison, whose light shines upon a hill that can- 
not be hid, makes it at once desirable for all agricul- 
tural and remunerative purposes; its location and 
soil being well adapted to all industrial pursuits. 

Abram Wood, the man who superintended the 
building; of Mrs. Eben Peck's house, the first house in 
Madison, was the first settler; he lived at Winnequah, 
and had a squaw wife, a daughter of the chief De 
Kaury. When Simeon Mills came to Madison, by 
way of Janesville, he crossed the Catfish three times, 
and finally landed at Winnequah. Here he found 
Wood, and through him was able to bargain with two 
Indian boys, for fifty cents each, to carry him across 
the lake to Madison, a favor which he was unable to 
persuade the boys to do before. 

Robert L. Ream (in Durrie's History of the Four 
Lakes) says that on a small estuary or spring on Third 
Lake, he saw a red fox fishing for pickerel, which he 
caught by springing suddenly into the water and 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLOOMING GROVE. 533 

bringing the fish out, and then sitting down, quietly 
devoured the fruit of his labor. 

The town of Blooming Grove is known as town 7 
north, of range 10, and situated in the center of the 
county, about four miles east of Madison. It was 
originally a part of Madison, but was organized a sep- 
arate town April 2, 1850, at a meeting held for that 
purpose at the house of R. "W". Lansing. JN". J. Tomp- 
kins was elected chairman; JVm. J. Reese and John 
L. Lewis, associate supervisors; Dr. II. A. Tiffany, 
town clerk; Ben. W. Caswell, treasurer; Josephus 
Lansing, assessor; Rev. John G. Miller, superintend- 
ent of schools. Mr. Miller having to leave for the 
east, R. W. Lansing was appointed to serve in his 
place. Mr. Miller, from 1845 to 1850, served in the 
capacity of a missionary among the Germans in Wis- 
consin, and recalls a very striking contrast between 
the homes of the citizens of to-day and those of 
former times. The Germans were very few then, 
but there were large settlements of Norwegians, a 
great number of whom preferred building their 
houses in excavations made in a hill or bluff, where 
they boarded up the sides with lumber. 

Elder Miller purchased some land in Blooming 
Grove, next to Doctor Tiffany, and others who were 
among the first settlers. About this time Doctor 
Tiffany came to Elder Miller, stating that they had 
better organize a town of their own and be separated 
from Madison, so as to manage their own affairs and 
save expense. Accordingly a petition was made to the 
board of supervisors and the request granted, and on 



53tt DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLOOMING GROVE. 

the 2d of April., 1850, town officers were elected. 
Some time after the organization the Doctor spoke of 
naming the town, but had not as yet found a suitable 
name for it. Elder Miller asked the privilege of 
naming the town. The Doctor said, "Yery well, 
Elder, if you have a suitable name, let us have it." 
Having been privileged to travel through this country 
for several years he readily recognized the beauties of 
nature which surrounded him, as he behold at a short 
short distance, the burr and black oak, resembling an 
Ohio and Pennsylvania orchard, and the prairies full 
of wild flowers in great abundance, of the most beau- 
tiful colors imaginable, so that no florist could have 
arranged his plants more artistically than was visible 
all around. With this scene before him, the Elder 
said, "I think the town names itself — Blooming 
Grove." " You have hit it, Elder," said the Doctor, 
"it is a Blooming Grove;" and so as its name was 
given, so does it continue in reality a Blooming Grove. 

The first German church and congregation was or- 
ganized and built in the southeast corner of Bloom- 
ing Grove, in the year 1853, under the insjiection and 
care of Bev. J. H. Bagatz, of the Evangelical Asso- 
ciation. The present pastor is Bev. T. Umbrecht. 

The Milwaukee & St. Paul Bailroad, and the 
Watertown division of the same road, pass through 
various sections of the town. 

The earlier inhabitants found this township in a 
wild, unimproved condition, and in possession of the 
Indians, who had rudely cultivated a large portion of 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BLOOMING GROVE. 535 

the lands on the west bank of Monona, directly oppo- 
site Madison. The evidences of their rough culture 
have not entirely disappeared at this time. There are 
three mounds along the west bank of said lake still 
apparent. Many of the Indian relics have been found 
in and about these mounds; but they have never been 
thoroughly opened and explored. The Indians, in 
greater or less numbers, have habitually and annually 
revisited this delightful resort, to engage in fishing 
and hunting; the lake at all times affording abund- 
ant supplies of fish and game. About twenty years 
ago, during a quarrel the Indians had among them- 
selves, an Indian chief shot one of his braves and then 
threw him in the lake; the body was taken out sub- 
sequently and buried on the lake shore, on the land 
now owned by Robt. McComb, where the mound is 
still to be seen.* The following day after the murder, 
about twenty-five Indians, among whom was the wife 
of the murdered man, passed the residence of Mr. Geo. 
Zinck all riding on ponies, with the exception of this 
woman, who walked alongside leading her pony, 
which the Indians said it was necessary for her to do 
for a number of months, as evidence of her mourning 
for her husband. 

When the Hon. Moses M. Strong, Levi E. Marsh 
and Mr. Potter left Milwaukee on the 16th day of 
January, 1837, and traveling on horeback through 
Prairie village (now Waukesha), Fort Atkinson and 

* A statement is also made in reference to the above fact, that the 
Indian committed suicide while suffering from the effect of a fever. 



536 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — BLOOMING GROVE. 

First Lake, for the purpose of visiting the newly lo- 
cated seat of government, they took the Indian trail 
from Second Lake to Third, and arrived on the south- 
east side in the town of Blooming Grove near AVinne- 
quah, where Mr. Strong taking his field glass fixed 
upon a bay on the opposite shore in a northwesterly 
direction as the most probable direction of the sec- 
tion line, and crossing the lake on the ice, struck the 
meander post of the government surveyor at the foot 
of King street, and through the center of which the 
section line runs. 

The early settlement of the town was greatly retard- 
ed for want of ready facilities for obtaining the neces- 
saries of life, Madison affording but small amounts 
and at enormous prices, and Milwaukee being the 
nearest market (95 miles) where even the smallest 
demands of the citizens could be occasionally sup- 
plied. However, by economy, patience and perse- 
verance, the forests were subdued and cleared, and the 
richest productions of the soil soon produced an 
abundance for home consumption, and the people be- 
came happy and hopeful; and now think they have 
the richest and most productive soil, the most beauti- 
ful farms, and enchanting scenery of any other town 
in the county. Its healthful condition has ever been 
proverbial, and from some of its eminences may be 
seen, and at once, the 2d, 3d, and 4th lakes, also the 
city of Madison and the historic Blue Mounds, twen- 
ty-five miles west of Madison, a sight full of grandeur 
and magnificence. Bounded on the west by Lake 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLOOMING GROVE. 537 

Monona, the best and most placid sheet of water of 
the four lakes, its shores are easily accessible over a 
bed of white gravel, looking like brilliants set in the 
diadem of nature. Here bathing may be freely in- 
dulged in, our town having no prohibitory law; and 
for aquatic sports, in boating and fishing, it cannot 
be excelled. Part of sections seven and eight, all of 
section eighteen, and nearly all of nineteen, lie be- 
neath the waters of Lake Monona, while sections 
twenty-eight and thirty-three are mostly covered by 
Lake Waubesa. The Catfish river connects the two, 
running through sections 28 and 29. There are some 
smaller streams in the town, upon one, Mr. Dunning 
erected a sawmill in the year 1841. Dr. Tiffany was 
the first physician in the town. Dr. Pelton came 
shortly afterwards. 

There are a number of genial resorts on this side of 
the lake, where sumptuous repasts may be had in good 
order and at moderate rates. Steamboats ply the 
lake at all reasonable hours, and pleasure seekers have 
the freest and fullest rational enjoyments. The citi- 
zens are all farmers and hard workers, as the delight- 
ful and growing condition of their farms will show, 
and are proverbial for genial hospitality and high in- 
telligence. The soil is of the very best quality that 
could be desired. The town has twelve school dis- 
tricts, and contains a population of 1,500 inhabitants. 

Blooming Grove Grange, No. 250, was organized 
in 1874, and meets weekly at the Town Hall. 

Monona Lodge, No. 285, I. O. of G. T., meets ev- 
ery Wednesday evening at the Town Hall. 



538 DANE COUNTY TOWNS BLOOMING GROVE. 

The Cottage Grove Fire Insurance Company, com- 
prising the towns of Cottage Grove and Blooming 
Grove, and adjoining towns, was organized March 
24th, 1875, with the following incorporators: 

James Bell, Daniel Bechtel, John S. Daily, Henry Peters, Gr. 
Timmennan, John S. Gallagher, G. M. Nichols, Wm. F. Uphoff, 
Richard Gallagher, John Sprecher, Jacob Baringer, John Wolf, C. 
Gousmann, Fred Pepper, Casper Storcks, H. Witte, Francis Zink, 
Chas. Jorks, C. Rodefeld, Wm. M. Townsend, Francis Good, Rob- 
ert Gallagher, C. Uphoff, H. Hippe, M. E. Emerson, Mrs. C. H. 
Pellage, C. Horfmacher, C. Kanmier, H. Drakley, E. Stemhaur, 
George Pellage, John Maeder, A. B. Emerson, Fred Schultz, C. 
Drakley. 

The following officers were elected at first meeting: 

Wm. F. Uphoff. president; Daniel Bechtel, secretary; John S. 
Daily, treasurer; M. E. Emerson, Henry Peters, G. Timmennan, 
James Bell and J. S. Gallagher, directors. 

The company commenced business on the 8th day 
of June, in the same year, with a capital of one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. The company insures all 
kinds of farm property, and is in a prosperous con- 
dition, and has up to this date, August 20, 1877, only 
sustained two small losses, amounting to $92, and has 
increased its capital to $270,000. Its present officers are: 

James Bell, president; Daniel Bechtel, secretary; John S. Daily, 
treasurer; Philetus Hurd, Henry Kleinefelter, G. Tim merman, H. 
M. Harriman and Wm. F. Uphoff, directors. 

The town officers of 1877 are : Supervisors — Dan - 
iel Bechtel, chairman, Matthew Conlan, William M. 
Townsend; town clerk — James Kavanaugh: assess- 
or — Wm. H. Pauli; treasurer — Holmes Halverson. 

In 1870 a town hall was built; previously town 
business was transacted in different houses of the 
town. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 539 



MADISON. 

BY H. A. TENNEY. 

Owing to the wide area of the original town, the cre- 
ation of villages and a city, and great municipal changes, 
it is difficult to make a satisfactory sketch of the town 
of Madison, since the shifting scene of forty years of- 
ten leaves one in doubt what to include and what to 
reject, either as to boundaries, or as to early settlers. 
Strictly speaking the pioneer citizens of the village and 
city are a part of, and belong to, the town, and no sketch 
could be considered complete which did not include 
them, as many of them were the most prominent actors 
in early times. From the material at command I have 
made the best classification in my power. It is not en- 
tirely satisfactory to myself, and doubtless will not be 
to many who may read these pages and whose names 
have been necessarily omitted. I beg all to look upon 
this production with charity and a kindly eye to the dif- 
ficulties of the undertaking. 

Wrro first Visited the Lake Country. — Ebenezer 
Brigham, the first settler within the limits of Dane 
county,was probably the firsb white American who visited 
the site of Madison. In repeated conversations with 
the writer, many }'ears since, he stated that, in company 
with a few other prospectors, he erected a cabin at Blue 
Mounds in 1828, and, having done so, accompanied by 
three others, a few days later, made a trip to Fort Win- 
nebago, then a new frontier outpost, to ascertain wheth- 
er supplies could be obtained there, and what facilities 
existed for the shipment of lead. He had heard of the 
Lake Country from the Indians, and, on his return, 



540 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 

struck south at a venture, and the same night camped 
on the hill on which Madison is now located, eight 
years hefore the site was entered by Doty and Mason. 
Impressed with the beauty of the spot, in a moment of 
enthusiasm, he predicted that a city would in time grow 
up there, and that it might become the future capital of 
a state. He was a warm, personal friend of Doty, and 
it was probably through him that knowledge of the 
place was first communicated. It is not probable that 
Doty and his party, who visited the region in 1829 for 
the purpose of examination with reference to entering 
land, did so at random, and without previous informa- 
tion as to the existence of the lakes, or that they were 
the first coiners here. The government surveys were 
not completed until 1834. At any rate, I record the 
statement of Mr. Brigham, made to me on several occa- 
sions, and place it in opposition to such historical works 
as give Doty and his party the credit of " discovery/ - ' 
No one who personally knew Brigham would for a mo- 
ment question his veracity on this or any other subject. 
He was a pure type of western pioneer manhood, mod- 
est, quiet, unassuming, and never given to boasting. I 
ought to add, that he gave me the names of the com- 
panions who made the trip with him, but they have un- 
fortunately been lost. He spoke of the excursion sim- 
ply as a mere incident of his early experience in the 
country, and repeated to me what is above recorded the 
last time I met him, but a few weeks before his death. 
A. Pioneer Scene. — The first coiners found every- 
thing in a primitive condition. The hand of man had 
not as yet made what, in modern terms, is called an 
" improvement. 1 ' The waters tossed idly upon their 
pebbly beaches, unfurrowed by a keel. The rivers ran 
lazily through channels winding and crooked to such a 
degree as to prevent any rapidity of current. The 



BANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 511 

marshes and low grounds were dank in oozy slime, un- 
drained, and with scarcely defined boundaries. Forests 
spread out on all sides over hill and dale. The prairies 
at rare intervals came down to the shores. Birds of 
passage in innumerable flocks swarmed upon all the 
waters ami low grounds. The stately swan came fear- 
lessly to feed or make his nest; the pelican and crane, 
seen standing in long lines about the shores, gave 
strange animation to the scene, as they sought their 
finny prey. Ducks, geese, all varieties of water-fowl, 
in multitudes beyond computation, everywhere dotted 
the waters, Avhile fish in great variety of species filled 
the pellucid depths. 

Nor was the land less densely peopled with wild ani- 
mal life. The elk, deer, bear, wolf, fox, with many 
other species, found here a home and natural supplies 
for every want. The eagle and hawk were lords of the 
air. Songsters filled the woods with melody. The 
prairie hen, grouse, sand-hill crane, quail and other 
species abounded in the openings and prairies. And 
to this may be added the beaver, not as yet exterminated, 
the otter, mink, muskrat, etc., some individuals of which 
even yet survive. Add to these things Indian encamp- 
ments about the shores, with their rude wigwams, their 
light canoes, their toil-worn squaws, their elfish pap- 
pooses and lazy warriors, and we shall have in brief ret- 
rospect the scene that greeted the pioneers of the Lake 
Country in the seasons of verdure and sunshine. It 
was a land without roads, bridges, or artificial land- 
marks, other than recent surveys, in which the only re- 
liable guide to the traveler was his compass, and his 
successful journeying depended almost wholly upon his 
endurance, fortitude and practical good sense. 

Almost every prominent point was, in the pioneer 
time, covered with the embossed works of races classed 



542 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 

now under the meaningless name of "Mound Builders. 1 ' 
The ages were marked here with the symbols of this 
mysterious people, with a richness and profusion that 
proved long residence, and keen appreciation of all that 
was most beautiful in nature. About every variety of 
form of structure known in the north were to be met 
with — beasts, birds, reptiles and men. That any mem- 
ory of them has been preserved, is due to the labors of a 
Lapham and one or two others. The plow has been as 
great a leveler as death — one removing the race, and 
the other eradicating its monuments. Our fields, in- 
deed^ are little else than the cemeteries of a people 
whose origin was doubtless cotemporaneous with the 
mammoth, the mastodon and the elephant. Nearly all 
their great works have now disappeared from the scene. 
Their unhonored dust scarce survives as a memory. 
Modern civilization has triumphed over the graves of a 
mighty past. Unless speedily surveyed, what still re- 
main of these works — and they are still numerous in 
the woodlands — will soon meet the common fate. Is 
there no one, in this eleventh hour, to re-map the out- 
lines of what still remain? 

Fkom 1836 to 1816. — Madison was the parent town 
of Dane county, the first named, the first organized, 
and, with the exception of a single individual, the first 
settled. As its original boundaries probably coincided 
with those of the county, it is doubtful whether Eben- 
ezer Brigham, the pioneer of all this section of country, 
ought not to be classed as its first settler, though living 
at Blue Mounds, as the township is now named. If he 
may not properly be thus classified, then Eben Peck 
and family are entitled to that distinction, by arriving 
a few weeks in advance of others who have remained per- 
manently located from the beginning, while his stay was 
not of many years durati >u. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 543 

The first entry of land in the town was made April 
6, 1836, by James D. Doty and Stevens T. Mason, cov- 
ering most of the present city site; and although the 
place then had no name, as other tracts about were soon 
taken, that date may be considered as the origin of all 
improvements and changes that have since followed. 

Anything like a correct history of the town requires 
a classification into three parts, according to municipal 
changes, which may be thus stated: 

1. From 1836 to 1816, during most of which period 
the town and county were substantially the same, geo- 
graphically, and had substantially the same officials. 

2. The charter of the village in 1816, without inter- 
ference with the town government, except as to purely 
municipal matters, which incorporation continued for 
ten years. 

3. The chartering of the city in 1856, which ousted 
the village and town authority, and severed the two 
forms of government previously existing. 

The first election precincts into which the town was 
divided were ordered by the county commissioners May 
15, 1839, viz.: Madison and Moundville (Blue Mounds). 
These Avere then the only points of settlement. The 
total population was estimated at three hundred. The 
county was still attached to Iowa for taxable and judi- 
cial purposes, and as yet no courts had been held. At 
the election held for delegate to congress, August 10, 
1839, the total vote cast for all candidates was seventy- 
three. County officers, justices of the peace, etc., were 
at this time appointed by the governor. Officers of 
election were appointed by the county commissioners. 
Township government, in the sense Ave now understand 
it, can scarcely be said, during these ten years, to have 
had an existence. A quarrel betAveen Gov. Doty and 
the legislature, in 1812-3, finally changed the Avhole 



511 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON, 

system by taking the appointing power from the execu- 
tive and conferring upon the people the right to elect 
their own local officers. 

The population, too, of this decade, was much too 
small and diffused either to support or to bear much 
civil control. There was little occasion for government 
where there were none to govern; and the pioneers of 
the wilderness were too poor in worldly goods to assume 
unnecessary burthens. The worst victims of the time 
were such speculators as had loaded heavily with wild 
lands, and lots in the village plat. They were naturally 
regarded as fair game, and whenever anything of a pub- 
lic nature was undertaken, it was almost always at their 
expense. The financial crash of 1836-7 had carried 
every enterprise down, and anything like renewed pros- 
perity was not felt in the interior of Wisconsin until 
about 1815. The products of the farm literally had no 
commercial value. Wheat sold, when there was any 
market, at twenty-five cents per bushel, and when it 
reached fifty cents, farmers considered themselves on the 
high road to wealth, as they were, for lands could be 
bought at less than government price, and wants were 
much fewer than at the present time. It is economy 
and general cheapness, and not high prices and extrava- 
gant notions, that makes communities rich. Poverty and 
industry are the saving power of states. 

From 1816 to 1856. — In 1816, the town was for the 
first time practically organized, and the village of Mad- 
ison incorporated. The corporation did not conflict 
with the town government, and citizens participated 
equally in both elections, as if no internal municipal or- 
ganization existed. The town, indeed, was for several 
years the controlling local authority. 

Owing to the effects of the panic of 1836-7, the settle- 
ment of the territory had been extremely slow. Madi- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 515 

son was far isolated from all neighborhood, and the gain 
in population from year to year was scarcely appreciable. 
To show more clearly the exact location of population 
in 1846, I have copied two extracts from the town rec- 
ords: one creating new voting precincts in the town, 
which then embraced twenty-four townships (Albion, 
Dunkirk and Fitchburg having previously been desig- 
nated as voting places, in addition to Madison and 
Moundville), and the order of the commissioners of 
common schools dividing the town into school districts 
in accordance with law, to wit: 

New Precincts. — June 29, 1846. — At a meeting 1 of the board 
of supervisors, held at the county room this day, the following pre- 
cincts were ordered to be established for holding general elections : 

Ordered, " That a precinct be established at the house of George 
McFadden | now town of Montrose] in the town of Madison and 
county of Dane, to be known by the name of "Grand Springs 
Precinct," and that Geo. McFadden, Daniel M. Holt and Russell Tif- 
fany be, and hereby ar ;, appointed judges of election for said precinct. 

That a precinct be established at the house of John Clark, in the 
town of Madison [now probably town of Dane J, to be known by the 
name of ' ' Dane Precinct, ' ' and that John Clark. Arnold Downing 
and Freedom Simons be, and they hereby are, appointed judges of 
election for said precinct. 

That a precinct be established at the house of John M. Thomas, 
in the town of Madison and county of Dane [now Cross Plains], to 
be known by the name of ' ' Cross Plains Precinct, ' ' and that John 
M. Thomas, Ripha Worden and John S. Mann be, and hereby are, 
appointed judges of election for said precinct. 

That a precinct be established at the house of Amos Beecher, in 
the town of Madison and county of Dane [now Cottage Grove], to 
be known by the name of " Cottage Grove Precinct," and that 
Horatio Catlin, Roswell Brown and Charles M. Nichols be, and are 
hereby appointed judges of election of said precinct." 

The erection of these precincts gave a total of nine 
voting places in the county, and the names then given 
were, with an exception or two, adopted by the towns 
when afterwards organized. The then town of Madi- 
son, by the change, had six places established for voting 
within its limits. 

Naming the Towns. — Up to this time but two or 
three townships had received names, and many were as 
35 



516 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 

yet without their first settler. They were known only 
by number and range; and nothing was more puzzling 
for a time to " old settlers'' than to recognize towns by 
the names given them by successive boards of supervis- 
ors in subsequent years. Even now the writer confesses 
himself often in doubt as to the location of some of the 
towns from their names, long as they have been estab- 
lished, without reference to a map — having learned in the 
"old way." There is quite a difference between remem- 
bering thirty-six names and two or three, as in the early 
time, while the plats of survey were extremely simple. 

Schools and School Districts. — The first school 
district in either town or county was created December 
25, 1841, on the formal application, by petition, of Al- 
mon Lull, I. W. Bird, E. Irving. P. W. Matts and 
Nicholas Smith. David Brigham, James Morrison and 
Bush Fairchild were commissioners of schools. The 
district was numbered 1, and comprised the whole town- 
ship of Madison as at present organized, including most 
of the city site. In February, 1811, the district was en- 
larged by adding to it town 8, range 9 — now Westport. 
Up to 1846, seventeen districts had been designated in 
different portions of the county, to meet the wants of 
new settlement, but they were entirely disconnected, 
and without union or uniform plan. Upon the formal 
beginning of town government by popular vote, the 
town of Madison, as then organized, was formally di- 
vided into districts, by the order following, given in full: 

Town School Districts in 1816. — The official di- 
vision of the town of Madison into school districts will, 
perhaps, better illustrate the meagerness of population 
in 1816, than anything I might say on the subject. It 
was as follows: 

"Beit known that on this 29th day of June, A. D. 1846, we, the 
undersigned commissioners of common .schools for the town of 
Madison, county of Dane and territory of Wisconsin, have divided 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 547 

the said town of Madison into districts, and have numbered them 
as follows, to-wit: 

No. 1. — Sections 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22 and 23 of town 7, range 9 
(now plat of Madison), and all of town 8, range 9 (now Westport). 

No 2. — The west halt of town 7, range 9 (now Madison). 

No. 3. — Sections 25, 26, 27, 34, 35 and 36 in town 7, range 9 
(now Madison). 

No. 4. — All of town 6, range 11 (now Pleasant Springs). 

No. 5. — Sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 
the west halt of sections 11, 14 and 23, in town 8, range 10 (now 
Burke). 

No. 6. — Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, in town 8, range 10 
(Burke), and sees. 25 to 36 in town 9, range 10 (now Windsor). 
No. 7. — Sections from 1 to 24, in town 9, range 10 (now Windsor). 

No. 8. — All of town 6, range 8 (now Verona). 

No. 9. — All of town 5, range 8 (now Montrose). 

No. 10. — The south half of town 7, range 11 (now Cottage Grove). 

No. 11. — All of town 9, range 8 (now Dane). 

No. 12. — Sections 13, 14, 15 and the south half of town 8, range 
6 (now Black Earth). 

No. 13. — The north half of town 8, range 6, excepting sections 
13, 14 and 15 (now Mazomanie). 

No. 14. — Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of town 8, range 7 
(now Berry). 

No. 15. — All of town 9, range 9 (now Vienna). 

No. 16. — The north half of town 7, range 11 (Cottage Grove), 
and all of town 7, range 10 (now Blooming Grove), and sections 12, 
13, 2:'>, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and the east half 
of sections 11, 14 and 23 of town 8, range 10 (Burke). 

No. 17. — All of town 8, range 8 (now Springfield). 

No. 18. — All of town 7, range 8 (now Middleton). 

No. 19. — All of town 8, range 7, excepting sec. 3 to 10 (now Berry). 

No. 20. — All of town 7, range 7 (now Cross Plains). 

No. 21. — All of town 6, range 7 (now Springdale). 

No. 22. — All of town 5, range 7 (now Primrose). 

No. 23. — All of town 7, range 6 (now Vermont). 

No. 24. — All of town 6, range 6 (now Blue Mounds). 

No. 25. — All of town 5, range 6 (now Perry). 

No. 26. — All of town 7, range 12 (now Deerfield)." 

This order is signed by J. Gilletfc Knapp, Benjamin 
Holt, and F. H. Talcott, school commissioners. It is 
doubtful if there were a. dozen schools actually kept in 
the entire county. It will be seen that the commis- 
sioners divided the then town of Madison into districts, 
incorporating whole townships where there were no, or 
few inhabitants, and making them of lesser size only 
when actual colonies had been begun. Viewed in the 



548 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 

light of the present, this order is a very significant indi- 
cation of the then isolated location of settlements and 
population. 

The vote for state government at the spring election, 
1846, was 200 for, and 47 against. A great many set- 
tlers deemed it too early to establish a state, as the gen- 
eral government relieved them of all burthens by paying 
the territorial expenses. The proposition was barely 
carried, mainly by the vote cast in villages and cities, 
through the activity of politicians desirous of place and 
distinction. 

Vote for Town Officers in 1846. — The population 
of the town at this time may be inferred from the vote 
cast at the election held April 7, for town officers. Po- 
litical division ran very high at this period, and as the 
settlers were all young or middle aged, it is presumed 
that few or none failed to attend the polls. The result 
as to supervisors was as follows: 

Democratic. Whig. 

James R. Larkin 134 Ebenezer Brigham 110 

Edward Campbell 119 Beivj. Dodge 100 

Wm. C. Wells 126 Samuel G. Abbott 98 

If the 232 votes cast indicated an average of four non- 
voters to each, the total population of the town would 
have been 928, and it did not probably much exceed this, 
including, of course, the village. 

Among the number voted for at this election, but few 
remain citizens of the present town, or now survive. 
J. D. Ruggles was elected clerk over E. M. Williamson 
by one majority. For treasurer, Darwin Clark was 
elected over Henry C. Parker. For collector, Andrus 
Viall was elected over Benjamin W. Wilcox and Abel 
Rasdall; For assessors, George Vroman, J. W. Thomas 
and William Larkin were elected over Wm. A. Webb, 
W. D. Bird and Michael M. McCord. For fence view- 
ers, Eliab B. Dean, Jr., Thos. W. Sutherland and John 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 549 

Y. Smith triumphantly defeated S. F. Blanchard, R. F. 
Lowdon and Samuel Parkhurst. Justices, Wm. N. Sey- 
mour, Nathaniel Wheeler and Alonzo Wilcox were 
chosen over Adam Smith, Barlow Shackleford and Na- 
than Spaulding. Of these and the lesser candidates, it 
is painful to note how many have disappeared from the 
scene of their labors. 

The following items, extracted from the record of a 
few years, will give some idea of the doings and policy 
of the period: 

The clerk, at a meeting in April, was ordered to pro- 
cure a printed form for town orders, suitable books for a 
town record, and a proper seal. The total taxes voted 
for all purposes amounted to about seven mills. The 
English settlement in the lower part of Black Earth 
vallejr, just commenced, owing to the poverty of some of 
its members, cost the town quite a heavy sum for poor 
purposes, and was a subject of much controversy. Cat- 
tle of all kinds, except bulls and stallions, were per- 
mitted, by official action, to run at large in all high- 
ways, the owners not being liable for damages to any 
one whose premises were not enclosed by a legal fence. 

At an election held April 6, 1847, the vote for state 
constitution "Yes" was 175; " No," 154. For license 
to sell liquors, "Yes," 27 votes; "No," 13. Equal suf- 
frage to colored persons, "Yes," 18 votes; "No," 176, 
As yet the place had achieved but one colored " man 
and brother," and his voting enfranchisement was not 
popularly relished; and yet Titus Kirhpatrick was 
highly distinguished by the attentions received, both 
in prose and verse, as old settlers will all no doubt re- 
member. 

A genial kindness pervaded communities at this time, 
unknown to the present. How often a score of able 
bodied men left their own work to go out ten or twenty 



550 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 

miles to help a new settler raise his cabin, whose name 
even was scarcety known ; and all without fee or reward. 
It was equally so with the sick, needy and destitute. 
The shams of modern society had no place here. The 
impulses of benevolence were sincere and genuine. Hy- 
pocrisy and selfishness had not as yet found a foothold. 
Degrees of wealth were not recognized as degrees in the 
scale of humanity. Piety was scarce; but practical 
good deeds were too common to attract notice. They 
were looked upon as matters of course. 

A vein of waggery tinged the whole social order. 
Every one was joker or jokist — made victims of others, 
or was himself victimized. Humor and fun were stand- 
ard coin. Their circulation reached every one. But it 
is almost impossible to record in words the spirit that 
escaped in its essence, and overflowed on all occasions. 
Mirth, indeed, flowed like a river with full Ivmks, and 
there was no such thing as strangers to the flood. 
Hardships and trouble were alike forgotten in its pres- 
ence. This mercurial impulse made a " smiling land " 
of a wide waste of fertile but unoccupied desert. 

Nothing in the " show line " could at that time make 
its appearance without universal patronage. It did not 
matter whether good or bad, sport was bound to come 
out of it. Even the gravity of courts and legislatures 
were no barriers to the popular tendency. How vividly 
I recall the advent of a circus, in the summer of 
1848.* The legislature was at the moment in dull and 
heavy session, myself reporting for the press. Suddenly 
strains of music floated into the Assembly Chamber. 

* Mr. N. T. Hawes, of Fitch burg, states that the first circus exhibited in 
Madison was in the summer of 1C44, and exhibited on the corner of the 
block now occupied by J. E. Fisher as a furniture warehouse. In the Dane 
county minutes there is a record made of one Geo. K. Spaulding as being 
licensed to exhibit the "North American Circus." in Dane county, for ninety 
days, dating July 5th, 1814. Also on July Kith, 1845, and July 11th, 1840, the 
firm of June & Turner were licensed for the same purpose, and for about the 
the same numbe: of days each time. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 551 

A moment more, there was a rush of members for the 
windows over seats and desks, and then a stampede for 
the doors. The speaker stopped with a " motion " on 
his lips, his gavel dropped, and, with one or two jumps, 
he landed on the stairway, and thence to the floor be- 
low, and out into the park with the crowd, and was 
among the first to reach the street. The clerks, aston- 
ished for a moment, joined in pursuit; and the reporter 
stood in an empty house in the space of about a minute, 
which no one had adjourned, and so he adjourned himself. 
But to dwell on these memories would take a volume. 

Events of Genekal Impoktance. — The first event 
of local consequence was the location of the territorial 
capitol. At the time there was but one settler in the 
county. Next to it was the building of a steam saw- 
mill on Fourth lake, near the present steamboat land- 
ing, whereby some oak lumber was obtainable for the 
floors of dwellings. Previous to this, the most " aristo- 
cratic " houses were covered with siding split by hand. 
Log houses were of course largely in excess. As this 
mill soon ceased work, owing to a quarrel over the own* 
ership (having been built with territorial funds), Sime- 
on Mills and William A. Wheeler, erected another in 
1811, on a creek which empties into the northerly 
end of Third lake; and this small affair, which turned 
out 2,000 feet daily, of hard wood, was for a long time 
the sole reliance for a supply of lumber for the county. 
This mill was soon after sold to Philo Dunning, who 
run it for some years. Subsequently Mr. Mills built a 
steam mill on the edge of the marsh, between Main 
street and Washington avenue, in the year 1819. 
To his enterprise at this period and afterwards, the town 
and county owe far more than they have ever repaid. 
All these mills have, of course, long since disappeared. 
The crop of " prairie saw logs " is a thing of the past, 



552 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 

but one whose memory is even yet a fragrance to the 
old settlers. 

In 1844 the first flouring mill was erected in the town 
by William A. Wheeler and Joseph Vroman, on a small 
branch of Sugar River in town 6, of range 8 (now Ver- 
ona), and known as Badger Mill, which was the only 
grist mill for several years, and consequently the inhab- 
itants were largely dependent upon Janesville and other 
towns in Rock river valley for their bread, until L. J. 
Farwell built a large flouring mill at the outlet of Lake 
Mendota, in 1851.* 

The Era of Canal Projects. — Among events of 
these early times, the survey of a canal route from Rock 
river to the Wisconsin, by way of the Four Lakes, ought 
not to be omitted, as the " canal fever " preceded the 
'"railroad mania.' 1 In 1838-9, Capt. Cram made a canal 
survey from Rock river to Madison, under instructions 
from the general government, and in the latter year, 
Capt. Alex. M. Mitchell continued it from the head of 
Fourth Lake to " Mud Lake," and down Black Earth 
valley to the Wisconsin, and pronounced the project 
"perfectly feasible!" Here, then, was a scheme worth 



* To illustrate the dilemma of a community thus situated, let me give a 
brief example. On my first visit to Madison, in 1845, I was invited by Dan- 
iel M. Holt, an old acquaintance, to take tea with his family. On accom- 
panying him to his house I soon discovered that his wife, from a whispered 
conversation, was in a "peck of trouble." Finally, Holt, turning to me, said, 
'•It is no use to conceal anything. We have to depend on Janesville for 
flour, and the 'flour man' is four days behind time. I bought an extra 6tock 
on his last visit, but the taverns and neighbors are all out, and w r e have lent 
until we have not an ounce for ourselves. I think the man must get along 
yet to-night. At any rate let us go out and watch the road for him. If he 
fails, we can't give you either bread or biscuit, for there is no such thing in 
town. You will have to All up with potatoes and fish." We accordingly 
took up a position in the woods, near where the court house now stands, 
and eagerly scanned the '-Janesville road." In about an hour a team was 
seen winding round the head of Third Lake, which proved to be the "flour 
man's." Some biscuit was speedily prepared, much to the relief of the wife, 
who persisted in feeling "mortified" at being caught in so common a pre- 
dicament at that time in all families. The rule seemed to be that the "tav- 
erns" must be supplied in'any event, for the good repute of the place, how- 
ever short the citizens. Such a deprivation at the time, with me, as with 
others, would have simply excited a hearty laugh. But feminine hospitality 
was often put to a severe test in those days. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 553 

talking about — a water route both east and west from 
Madison, and our lakes, in imagination, all to be turned 
into reservoirs for steamers and canal boats! The ideas of 
the time were far ahead of present or possible reality. 
There was no such word as " visionary " to the new 
comer. A canal carried over a two hundred-feet crest, 
with no body of water as a feeder, did not seem an ex- 
travagant enterprise during this era of wild real estate 
speculation. 

Scandinavian Immigration. — Norwegian settlement 
was commenced around Lake Koshkonong about 1840. 
It soon pressed into the southeast corner towns of Dane 
county. Dressed in the costume of their native land, 
with customs and manners wholly un-American, the 
Scandinavian was at first regarded with great curiosity 
by the native element. As a rule, they selected the 
hilly lands out of the government domain, and built 
their dwellings mainly in excavations, often invisible at 
a distance. When a census was taken in midwinter in 
1847, as a preliminary to the convention to frame a state 
constitution, Joel P. Mann, who was making the enu- 
meration, had great trouble in finding this class of the 
population. In this emergency, Mr. Burdick (EUsJta, 
for short,) suggested a plan that was eminently success- 
ful. It was to gain a high hill in early morning, count 
the smokes, and multiply the number by ten! The cen- 
sus was soon after satisfactorily completed. 

In the absence of polling places, the Norwegian set- 
tlers, in 1816, had to come to Cottage Grove (Beecher's 
place) to vote. There was much strife between political 
parties to gain this accession in strength, and the cus- 
tom was, to send out a team on election day, with a 
deputy clerk to naturalize, together with a plethoric keg 
of whisky, and an agent to see that a supply of the right 
kind of tickets were given out and put into the ballot 



554 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 

box. The following was said at the time to be the form 
of proceeding in making citizens of the newly arrived: 

Officer to applicant — "Hold up your hand. You swear." Ap- 
plicant— "Y&w" Officer— "By Jesus Christ." Applicant— "Taw." 
Officer — " You vote the democratic ticket!' 1 '' Applicant — "Yaw." 
Officer — "Here is the straight vote. Go up to that window where 
you see those three men, and put it in the box, then come back and 
take a square drink. You are now invested with the whole dignity 
and every right of a free American citizen." 

The Norwegians were all democrats at that time. 
At present, democratic votes are conspicuously absent 
among them when they go to the polls. 

The wondrous career of the race in material wealth 
and mental improvement, under favorable and improv- 
ing conditions, is, to the early American settlers, a 
marked phase in race development, conspicuous among 
all others witnessed in western life. 

There were few German settlers then, one I recollect 
by the name of Xavier Jordan. I can only remember 
the names of three Irishmen, Thomas and Matthew 
Dunn and Peter Kavanaugh and their families. A 
dozen English families located, near what is now Mazo- 
nianie and towns of Springfield and Berry, and a few 
Scotchmen in this town and Verona, comprised the 
" foreign element." The American type was gen- 
erally predominant. 

Population, however, commenced flowing in very rap- 
idly about this period, and but a short time elapsed be- 
fore nearly every European nation had representatives 
among us. Owing to the rivalry between different 
counties, the census returns of the period are, on the 
score of exact accuracy, at least open to suspicion. 

The railroad, also, which first reached us in 1854, was 
another event whose impulse is scarcely yet over. For 
the first time our people were tied to the outer world 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 555 

by an enduring baud — a tie whose cost many of them 
are not likely to forget. Its advent was regarded as a 
decidedly "big thing." Hundreds came from miles 
distant to see the first gravel train! 

The Town as now Organized. — The present area 
of the township of Madison is about 11,400 acres of 
land — the balance water. It stands like a sheep that 
has passed through the hands of the shearer. Years 
of steady clipping had shrunk it to square boundaries, 
when the legislative shears made a final clip about 
1859, and set off a few sections to the town of Burke. 
As a result, its parts are no longer " contiguous terri- 
tory." The two northern corners, " McBride's Point" 
and u Livesey's Woods," are isolations — the voters from 
one side having to pass through Springfield and Middle- 
ton to get into their own town, and on the other, to trav- 
erse some five miles of city site to attend the polls. 
Except these breaks, the town encloses the city as the 
shell does the kernel, or the setting the gem, and em- 
braces about all the beauties of location and landscape 
that the city is so boastful over. The promontories and 
peninsulas, headlands, bluffs and bays are nearly all in 
the town, which probably has no counterpart in out- 
line elsewhere upon the globe. 

Geologically, the valle} r s and lowlands lie at the junc- 
tion of the Lower or Potsdam sandstone with the Low- 
er Magnesian limestone, so that the wash from the hills 
is a perpetual source of fertility. In addition to this, 
the town is in the very focus of ancient glacial activity, 
which not only scooped out the lake basins, but piled 
the debris, mixed with transported material, along the 
skirts of our hills and into nearly all our valleys. The 
surface may be said to be nearly all rolling, and without 
levels, other than marsh grounds. The soil is gener- 
ally good, and its fertilizing qualities likely to endure. 



556 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 

There are no waste lands, or too little to make a note of 
in a general description. On the Avhole, our half a town 
has capabilities exceeding many whole ones elsewhere. 

Our population numbers now about 1,000. The farms 
lead all other pursuits. We have six or seven school 
districts, no churches, one or two saloons, as many ho- 
tels, and little of mechanic arts, manufacturing or mer- 
chandising, and no debt! A more intelligent, quiet, 
orderly and harmonious people cannot be found in the 
whole state. For more than twenty years past it has 
been difficult to get any one to qualify as a justice of 
the peace, and during part of the time we have rarely 
had such an official; and the same is equally true of 
constables. With few exceptions our criminals have all 
been imported, and were not " to the manor born." 

Eben Peck, the first person who located on the site of 
the city, is also credited with being the first who 
'' broke the glebe " and turned the first furrow in the 
present town of Madison; and, for that matter, in the 
county of Dane. He broke about three acres, a little 
west of William Larkin's present homestead, in 1838, 
probably under the impression that it was government 
land; but, finding out his mistake, abandoned the work, 
and did not attempt cultivation. William Lawrence 
made a settlement near the north line of the town of 
Windsor, in 1838; but to what extent he broke the soil, 
if at all, is doubtful. In 1839, Abel Dunning and Wil- 
liam D. Bird made breakings within the present town, 
and " Esq. Peaslee " did the same on the " 76 farm," in 
Burke, which has passed through so many proprietors 
since. Wm. B. and Gr. H. Slaughter also settled in Mid- 
dleton in the same year. Dunning sowed crops on his 
breaking in 1839, but Bird and others, it is reported, not 
until the next year. These two worthy gentlemen and 
pioneers are the fathers of agriculture in Dane county, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — -MADISON. 557 

preceding in date all others now remaining or living, 
and have continued in their chosen profession from the 
beginning. Both have filled many public stations of 
great usefulness to the county, but none as conspicuous 
as their merits deserved. Neither have ever had leisure 
to run after office; and when they have accepted trusts 
of the kind, it has been done as a duty owed to com- 
munity, rather than from any desire for place. The 
beginners of our farms are certainly worthy of having 
their names commemorated, and of every honorable dis- 
tinction in the power of the community to confer. 

Among others of our pioneers, the names of James 
R. Larkin, Jonathan Larkin, Daniel Larkin, William 
Larkin and B. F. Larkin, stand prominently and con- 
spicuous as a family. To these should be added Har- 
mon J. Hill, Andrus Viall, Russell and Daniel Sheldon, 
and many others not easily enumerated from memory — 
all good men — citizens to be proud of — worthy in all 
senses to have assisted in founding not alone a town 
and county, but the state as well. As all the old set- 
tlers in the city belonged to the town, their career, in a 
historical sense, is a part of our heritage. 

List of Principal Town Officers from 1846 to 1877. 
1S46. Supervisors — Jamea R. Larkin, cb'n, Edward Campbell, Wm. C. 
Wells, lioad Commissioners —John M. Griffin, Thos. Rathbone, Abiram 
Drakely. Clerk- — J. Duane Ruggles. Collector— Andrus Viall. Treas- 
urer — Darwin Clark. Assessors — Geo. Vroman, John W. Thomas, Wil- 
liam Larkin. School Commissioners — J. G. Knapp, Benjamin Holt, F. H. 
Talcott. Justices — Wm. N. Seymour, Nathaniel Wheeler, Alonzo Wil- 
cox. Constables — John Cottrill, Jas. Moore, Albert Skinner. 

1847. Supervisors — Wm. C. Wells, ch'n, Chester Bushnell, Abel Rasdall. 
Road Commissioners — 3. t>l. Griffin, Lucius M. Palmer, Daniel Larkin. 
Clerk — J. Ripley Brigham. Collector— Squire Lamb. Treasurer — Dar- 
win Clark. Assessors — Harmon J. Hill, D. A. Barnard, Nicholas Smith. 
School Commissioners — David H. Wright, Benjamin Holt, A.L.Collins. 
Justices — Charter Bushnell, Allen Harris, Geo. M. Oakley. Constables — 
John D.Welch, Wm. Rasdall, Joseph Pettin. 

1848. Supervisors — Wm. C. Wells, ch'n, Casper M. Rouse, N. S. Emmons. 
Road Commissioners*— Clerk — Robert L. Ream. Collector— B. P. Lar- 
kin. Treasurer — Daniel B. Sneeden. Assessors — Arch. Tredway, Alfred 
Main, S. M. Van Bergen. School Commissioners — Benj. Holt, John Nel- 
son, D. H. Wright. Justices — H. J. Hill, Abram Ogden, B M. Caswell. 
Constables — Andrew Bishop, Alfred Main, John D. Welch. 

Fence viewers and sealers of weights and measures omitted. 

* This office seems to have been abolished by the legislature of 1847. 



558 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MADISON. 



1840. Supervisors — John Nelson, ch'n. Andrus Viall, R. F. Davis. 
Clerk— Robert L. Ream. Collector — Office abolished. Treas urer — M. 
G. Van Bergen. Assessor — Newton Emmons (but one elected). Sv.pt. of 
Schools — D. II. Wright (but one elected). Just ices — Abram Ogden, 
David H. Wright, William Welch. Constables —Alfred Main, A. M. Ras- 
dall, Henry Carman. 

1850.* Supervisors — Wm. N. Seymour, ch'n, Joel P. Mann, David A. 
Barnard. Clerk — Julius T. Clark. 

1851. Supervisors — Leonard J. Farwell,t Joel P. Mann, Richard T. Davis. 
rh rk — Johnson J. Starks. Collector — N. S. Emmons. Assessor — John 
T. Wilson. Supt. of Schools— J). N. Johnson. Justices — Geo. C. Albee, 
Win. N. Seymour. Constables — Thos. Heeran, Squire Lamb, Wm. II. 
Foot. 

1832. Supervisors — Philo Dunning, ch'n, Jas. R. Larkin, Xavicr Jordan. 
Clerk — James Donnellon. Treasurer — Casper Zwickey. Assessor — 
Robt. L. Ream. Sitpt. of Schools — Darwin Clark. Justices — Abram 
Ogden, William Welch. Constables — Thos. Heeran, Jos, Williams, Isaac 
Robertson. 

1853. Supervisors — J. T. Marston, ch'n, D. A. Barnard, Wm. D. Bird. 
Clerk — James Donnellon. Treasurer — Carl Habich. Asssessor — C. M. 
Rouse. Supt. of Schools-- John W. Hunt. Justices — Wm. N. Seymour, 
James R. Larkin. Constables — Michael Joyce, Daniel Cieghan, F. Guild. 

1854. Supervisors — Jehu H. Lewis, ch'n, Earnest Somers, II. J. Hill. 
Clerk — James Donnellon. Treasurer — Ernest Doerschlag. Assessor — 
C. G. Mayers. Supt. of Schools — David Holt. Justices — Abram Ogden, 
A. B. Braley. Constables —J. L. Roundy, J. P. Howard, C. Cieghan. 

1855. Supervisors — H. J. Hill, ch'n, S. M. VanBergen, Richard T. Davis. 
Clerk — Willett S. Main. Treasurer — Geo. C. Albee. Assessor — (No 
record made). Supt. of Schools — Darwin Clark. Justices — Wm. N. Sey- 
mour, Wm. Welch. Constables — I. E. Brown, Henry Rouse, Wm. Mc- 
Pyncheon. 

The legislature of 1856 chartered the city of Madison, and the 
town, in area nearly as now organized, held its election in April. 
The following were the first officers chosen : 

Supervisors — H. J Hill, ch'n, B. F. Larkin, Philo Dunning. Clerk — H. A. 
Tenney. Treasurer — Daniel Larkin. Sunt, of Schools — Joseph Chan- 
dler. Justices — Abel Dunning, Charles E. Morgan, Caleb Jewett As- 
sessor — Benjamin Piper. Constables — Chancellor Hill, R. G. Sheldon, 
Frank Mahew. 

*I And no entry of record of a town election having been held in 1S50. 
The above officers, however, are recorded as having served. 

+ Leonard J. Farwell purchased most of the northeast part of the village 
in 1847, visited Europe in 1848, and commenced improving his estate in 1849. 
Among the work he projected in 1851, was a large amount of ditching, etc. 
While absent, the whigs nominated him for chairman of the board of super- 
visors, and it was at once seen by the democrats that it was a formidable 
name to run against. To incite the needed opposition, Andrew Bishop, bet- 
in- known as "Elder," harrangued a crowd, saying, in substance, "that if 
Farwell was elected he would put the town into $10,00.1 expense for ditching 
his marsh, while his opponent, Barnard, would be eminently a safe man." 
Upon this, an Irishman on the outside of the crowd, nudging another, thus 
expressed himself: "Pat, do yes mind that now? If Farwell's elected he 
will spind tin thousand dollars a ditchin' the marsh, and Barnard niver a 
cint. Bisk says so. Farwell's the man for us, be jabers. Divil a ha'p'orth 
do we give Barnard a vote." The result of Bish's effort was to give Farwell 
the whole Irish strength — a whig victory for the first time in many years. 
The notoriety given to the event made Farwell a year later, governor of Wis- 
consin. Simeon Mills and Gov. Farwell were the real founders of about 
every early enterprise to improve the country, and make Madison what it 
has since become. " Bish's " speech was the prime inspiration of Farwell's 
political advancement, aided by Col Botkiu and others. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 559 

The whole number of votes cast at this election wa«s 124, as 
against 1,425 the year previous, when connected with the city. 
The vote of the town during the past twenty years has rarely 
reached above 300, and then only in very exciting elections. 

The following named gentlemen, in the order given, have served 
the town in the offices named since 1846 : 

Chairmen of Hoard of Supervisors — H. J '. Hill, two terms, W". D. Bird, 
Thomas Reynolds, two term?, H. A. Tenney, Andrus Viall, Chancellor 
Hill, two terms, Abel Dunning, two terms, Henry Turvill, Ed. E. Bryant, 
George C. Russell, Henry A. Draper, William Windsor. 

Clerks — Charles E. Morgan, Charles L. Ferris. James Kavanaugh, three 
years, Sinclair W. Botkiu, two years, George W. Hortou, George H. Mer- 
cer, William J. Pethcrick, Myron S. Piper, George W. Horton in 18iit>, 1807, 
1868, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877. 

Treasurers — Earnest Somers, Edward Newcomh, Michael Dunning, Benja- 
min Piper. Iwo years, A. Phillips, C. H. French, II. J. Hill, Joseph Chan- 
dler, S. Williams, Samuel S. Chase, George A. Cary, Chancellor Hill, E. 
Hammersly, Charles Nelson, R. W. Kowe. 

Supt. of Schools — H. A. Tenney, two years, Caleb' Jewett and nenry Tur- 
vill, two years. By change in the school system, this office was abolished 
at the close of Mr. Turvill* s term. 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

In compiling a history in which events of a general 
character are recorded, many interesting anecdotes and 
pleasing personal recollections are frequently uninten- 
tionally omitted. We purposed giving our readers a 
chapter on "Personal Incidents of Pioneer Life," but 
our space forbids recording more than the following, 
the first of which, furnished us by the Hon. Geo. B. 
Smith, is a simple narative of an act, so genuinely un- 
selfish, that it will be rare to find its equal any where. 

A good many years ago an incident occurred here in Madison, 
illustrating high integrity, great generosity and singular unselfish- 
ness, which I think should be preserved. 

Among the early settlers of Madison were two single men, Robert 
Moore, an Englishman, and James Dow, a Scotchman. Robert 
was always called "Bob," and James "Jimmie." Jimmie Dow 
lived always, when I knew him, all alone in a sort of hole in the 
ground on the Sauk road, about two miles west of Madison. 
"Bob" lived in town with old Uncle John Mallow, a brickmaker, 
with a large family. " Bob " often visited " Jimmie " at his cabin, 
in fact, I think he made " Jimmie's " house his headquarters. 
They were both genial, jolly good fellows, and both excessively 



5G0 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 



fond of their toddy. "Bob" was famous as a whistler. Every 
year, for many years, he used to whitewash the old Capitol fence, 
when he would always draw crowds by his remarkable whistling:. 
" Jimmie " was a well digger, and often worked at day's work with 
liis team of mules, which he always owned whde I knew him. He 
could repeat Burns' poems by the hour, and always, to use his own 
expression, as "dry as afesh." One afternoon " Bob " went out to 
" Jimmie 's " and in the evening feeling quite unwell, he startled 
his friend " Jimmie " by telling him he was sure he should not live 
until morning. "Jimmie" protested that he was only fidgety 
and frightened. "Bob," was deeply impressed that he should 
die that night, and he said: "'Jimmie,' I owe you for bor- 
rowed money thirty or forty dollars, and I owe Uncle John Mal- 
low more than that for board. Now, Jimmie, I am sure I shall die 
before morning, and if I do, I want you to take my gun and a note 
I have against a man in Columbus for $30, all 1 have in the world, 
and give them to Uncle John, for he is poor and has a large family 
to support, and you must lose your debt. If I live, I wih\pav you 
both." "Jimmie" said he would. Sure enough, "Bob" did die 
that night. When the funeral was over "Jimmie" took the gun 
and the note to Uncle John Mallow, and that very morning he 
brought the note to me at my house for collection, and told me this 
story. I collected the note, Mallow got his pay — "Jimmie" lost 
his debt. " Jimmie " remained here for a few years after the death 
of Bob, but finally left; where he went to I do not know. Two or 
three years ago he returned to visit his old friends, but tliis was no 
place for "Jimmie." I did not see him, but those who did, said he 
was still as " dry as a fesh." 

Mr. E. M. Williamson says that Berry Haney and Pelkie, the 
Frenchman referred to on page 26, had the dispute about a claim 
of land in Cross Plains, and Haney shot the Frenchman through the 
thigh, the ball entering the folding leaf of a cherry table, and which 
for years afterwards was shown by Haney to his friends as a curi- 
osity. Haney, however, took care of Pelkie until his final recovery. 

Mr. E. Burdiok relates that Haney at one time borrowed $50 of 
him and tendered him his note, which he, Burdick, refused, remark- 
ing that it was a matter of honor between Haney and himself, and 
all he wished was that the money should be returned at a given 
date. Haney was never known to honor liis note, but this matter 
of verbal promise to pay was the highest form of integrity to him, 
and on the appointed day Haney passed over the lawful amount 
with a nervous earnestness that he never was known to experience, 
at any other time when his note of hand fell due. 

Adam Smith, of Sun Prairie, who was at one time a partner of 
Abel Rasdall, relates an incident which, we believe, lias never been 
recorded before. Rasdell kept a trading store on the east side of 
King and Webster streets, and on one occasion a young Indian 
entered his store and attacked Mm with an open knife. Rasdell 
was unarmed, but after guarding the blows, was finally able 
to wrench the knife from the hands of the Indian, and though 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 561 



wounded across the back of his fingers, pursued him out into the 
street, where he caught and threw him down, and then struck at 
with the knife, while he held him down with one hand. The knife 
each time struck a heavy buckskin belt the Indian wore, and thus 
failed to injure him. The father of the young man coming up at 
the time, rushed up to Rasdall and besought him to spare the life 
of his son and take his, as he was an old man and had few moons 
to live. Tin- appeal touched the heart of Rasdall. and though 
naturally rash and vindictive, he allowed the young man to get up 
and go off with his father without further molestation. 

Wm. Welch, Esq., speaking of the good sayings and good 
things that are left slumbering in obscurity, for want of proper can 
in the preserving of them, and which would go far to the exclusion 
of so many trashy books that are palmed off on the public, relates 
the following in his Home Diary: " In 1857, the law firm of Welch 
& Lamb was established, and with their extensive acquaintance in 
the county, clients multiplied apace, and among them Mr. John 
Foreman, late of Deerfield. In 1860, the State Fair was ap- 
pointed to be held in Madison; and Mr. Welch, making Mr. Fore- 
man a friendly visit at his farm, bargained for a dozen spring 
chickens for home consumption, and a crock of good butter, which 
John and his wife were to bring to Madison when they made a visit 
to the Fair, and to stay over night at Mr. Welch's. John and his 
wife came according to agreement, with chickens and butter, and 
passing on tlrrough town stopped at the house of Mr. Lamb, who, 
eyeing the chickens, eloquently persuaded the couple to leave their 
merchandise with him, as it would be all right, it making no par- 
ticular difference which of the partners were made happy by the 
possession of the fowls, and so quietly passed them from John 
into a convenient smoke house that served as a preservative by 
smoke or otherwise. John and his wife, after satisfying them- 
selves with sight seeing at the Fair, returned to Welch's for night 
quarters, and after supper related their adventure with Mr. Lamb; 
and imwilling to disconcert the sunshine and joy on the honest face 
of the two good soids, Welch admitted it would be all right. But 
t.'0 foul a deed rankled in the brea.st of Welch, and he mentally 
shouted revenge. Peter Parkinson, Jr.. Mr. Welch's respected 
brother-in-law, driving up to the house at the time, Welch opened 
to him his budget of grief, and both agreed to cany the war out 
that very night. Proceeding to the house of Lamb, and satisfying 
themselves that everything was quiet in the house, they stealthily 
crept up to the smoke house, and carefully removmg a temporary 
door, commenced wringing the necks of the chickens, and had nearly 
complete-.! their operations when, to their horror and consternation, 
a large dog rushed out at them, but which proving to be a six months 
old Newfoundland, they readily made friends with him, and finishing 
their work of blood, took with them both the dog and chickens. 
The following morning the girl prepared the chickens for breakfast, 
and was assisted by Mrs. Foreman, who declared that the chickens 
'•iooked for all the world just like those John and her had 
brought to Deacon Lamb's." When Lamb reached the office in the 

36 



562 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MADISON. 



morning', Welch observed some perturbation of feeling on his coun- 
tenance, but supposing - his own imagination was working equally 
strong, said nothing until asked by Lamb if Foreman and wife 
had stayed with him over night, which being answered in the af- 
firmative, he again asked if they had come up town again the same 
evening, and being answered in the negative, was asked why he 
made these inquiries, when he proceeded to relate the night's theft, 
and how he had traced the foot prints of both a man and a woman 
in his lot, and had them measured by stick and ride. At this junc- 
ture, Welch involuntarily withdrew his protruding foot and sub- 
limely disclaimed against all hen roost thieves, until Lamb, thor- 
oughly satisfied that he had no clue to the robber, quietly charged 
himself with the clnckens, and for fifteen long years remained 
ignorant of the above facts, although brother Parkinson with some 
twinge of conscience, tried to make reparation by presenting Lamb 
with the hah of a hog." 

Madison has been long noted for her excellent staff of house and 
sign painters, and sometimes in the display of the latter their 
patience and good sense have been strongly imposed on. In one of 
the wards of our city lying between here and Cottage Grove, one of 
our good, quiet and honest Germans had started a small grocery 
store, and desired the aid of an artist of the brush to prepare 1dm a 
suitable sign for the proper announcement of his merchandise. The 
terms and price not being satisfactory, our good neighbor bargained 
for the use of paint and brush, as he had once some knowledge of 
the art himself, and could do a " leetle dat vay. 11 After a labored 
effort he produced the following: " Lager Beer and So — me. Gro- 
ceries." Another equally as good might be seen in the First ward of 
our city, and reads: " Going oat doing whitewashing taken in here." 

Education is a great helper if it is not always a great elevator; 
but which it is, we are not prepared to say, after reading the follow- 
ing, prepared and held by one of our painters for years for the ex- 
pense incurred in its execution for a practicing physician in a 
neighboring village, and which was tastefully lettered: " Dr. 
Wilber B. Dodge, M. D., Physician and Surgeon." In the making 
of books, says the wise man, there is no end, and so might it be 
added with regaid to professional titles. They are weightier than 
the pretended owners of them. 

When Pinneo, the shingle weaver, was in want of a drink, he 
was accustomed to go to Squire Seymour, who kept store for the 
Deans, and run his credit until the shingles he had wove were sold. 
On one occasion, having readied the utmost limit of his financial 
standing with the Squire, he endeavored by persuasive argument to 
have him give him one drink more. The Squire, however, was in- 
exorable, so Pinneo returned to his shingle establishment, where he 
found Adam Smith, from whom he borrowed an empty pistol, and 
with a bottle hi his pocket started for Deans 1 store. On entering 
he held the pistol in one hand and the bottle in the other and de- 
manded that the Squire should fill his bottle. The fierce attitude 
of the belligerent brought the Squire to terms, and, after filling the 
bottle, Pinneo coolly showed him the pistol was unloaded. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VIENNA.; 563 



VIENNA. 



BY HON. A. A. BOYCE. 



The town of Vienna is situated on the north line of 
Dane county, and is midway between the east and west 
lines of the count}-. The town is bounded on the north 
by the town of Arlington, in Columbia county, on the 
east by Windsor, on the south by Westport, and on the 
west by the town of Dane. It occupies the township of 
land known as town 9 north, range 9 east. This town- 
ship of land was set off from the northwest corner of 
Windsor, and organized as a separate town by an act of 
the second state legislature, in 1849. The name of the 
town was derived from the town of Vienna in the state 
of New York, from whence came some of the early set- 
tlers. It occupies a part of the high lands that di- 
vide the waters of the Wisconsin from those of Rock 
river. Prom the northwest part of the town the waters 
fall into Lodi creek, a small tributary of the Wisconsin, 
from the east, and south the waters find their way into 
Lake Mendota through two small creeks, one on the east, 
the other on the southwest border of the town. The land 
is sufficiently undulating to afford complete drainage. 
There are no marshes of any considerable extent. The 
soil is principally a deep, rich, dark loam of great fertility. 
In many of the hills and ridges, limestone of good qual- 
ity for building purposes is found. It is said that every 
quarter section of land would make a good farm. Beau- 
tiful prairies, interspersed with groves, form pleasing 
landscapes of great beauty. 

The principal groves are called Robertson's Grove, in 



561: DANE COUNTY TOWNS VIENNA. 

the north, Norway Grove, in the center, and Hundred 
Mile Grove, in the northwest part of the town, the grove 
was so called by the military engineers who placed the 
stake in the grove that marked the one hundredth mile 
on the military road from old Fort Crawford, at Prairie 
du Chien. This road extended from Fort Crawford, on 
the Mississippi, by way of Fort Winnebago, at the port- 
age between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, to Fort How- 
ard at Green Bay, and in early days was the principal 
thoroughfare from the southwest to the pineries of the 
north. It passed through the northwest corner of the 
town. 

In the year 1838, William G. Simons (now of Lodi) 
entered the first land, the southeast quarter of section 
21, and plowed the first land. The next year he built 
the first house, with the intention of keeping a tavern 
on the projected road from Madison to Fort Winnebago, 
but the projected road taking another route by the way 
of Token Creek, he left, and sold the land to Louis Mon- 
tonda, who and his wife Electa, were the only inhabit- 
ants for two years within the present limits of the town. 
In 1812, Montonda moved away and the town was left 
Avithout an inhabitant until 1815, when David Robert- 
son and Thomas Lindsay located on section 4, where 
they now reside. S. Nicholson settled on section 22. 
The next year (1816), Willard Fisher and Joseph Dem- 
ing, with their families, settled on section 21, and Ira 
Simons and Harvey P. Wheaton moved on to section 6; 
in this year also members of a colony from and near the 
city of Leicester, England, settled on section 31, being 
mostly mechanics, unused to farm labor and the hard- 
ships of pioneer life, a majority of them left and sought 
homes elsewhere. Among those who remained and im- 
proved their farms were William Plackett, Jonah Poy- 
nor, William Crow, and Jabez Weston. In the spring 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VIENNA. 565 

of 1847, Adam Paton settled on section 4, A. A. Boyce 
on section 6, Whiting D. Stanley and Aaron Lamb on 
section 7, and Benjamin Nesmith on section 32. A 
number of families from Norway settled in the central 
and eastern part of the town. Among the first that 
came were Erick and Michael Johnson, with their fam- 
ilies, who still reside on their farms. During this and 
the following years, many more settlers arrived. Robert 
Mann and Isaac Mann located on section 7. Among the 
early settlers who still occupy the farms on which they 
settled, are Samuel Pashley, R. McChesney, Alexander 
and Tims. Paton, M. O'Dwyer, W. 0. and Wm. Fisher, 
R. B. Kellogg, Ole Hemundson, Henry Nelson, T. E. 
Farness, Lars Sampson, T. Errickson, John Ollis, J. and 
W. Howie, Aaron Cooledge, J. Farwell, S. Raymond, 
H. Cramer, Jas. Taylor, R. J. Poynor, Wm. Plackett, 
J. C. Hustleby, A. J. Damp, S. M. Lester and A. Rankin. 

The first town meeting for the election of town offi- 
cers was held at the house of Willard Fisher, on the 16th 
day of April, 1819. and the following officers were chosen: 
Sitjwrrisors, A. A. Boyce, chairman, Willard Fisher, 
and Benjamin Nesmith; town clerk, Isaac Mann; 
assessor, Thomas Lindsay ; treasurer, Jabez Wes- 
ton; justices of the peace, A. A. Boyce, Jonah Poy- 
nor, Willard Fisher, and Hubbell Fuller. 

The first school house was built at Hundred Mile 
Grove, on section 7, in 1851. There are five churches 
in the town, the first church erected was the Norwegian 
Lutheran Church, in 1851, on section 21; then followed 
the Methodist Church on section 31; the Seventh Day 
Adventists and the Catholic Churches both on section 
9, and the Episcopal church on section 32. 

The inhabitants of this town have been peculiarly ex- 
empt from sickness. The high and dry location of the 
lands gives them a pure and healthful atmosphere. 



566 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VIENNA. 

While the people are of so many different nationalities 
and religions, yet greater harmony does not prevail in 
any town. Few crimes have been committed, and pau- 
perism is almost unknown. Schools and churches are 
liberally supported. Many of the young people avail 
themselves of the educational advantages afforded by 
the State University, the Normal and High Schools. 

Two railroads come within the limits of the town. 
The Chicago and Northwestern Railway crosses the 
southwest part of the town, the Madison and Portage 
road the northeast. The stations on these roads afford 
good and convenient markets for the products of the 
farms — Morrison, DeForest and Windsor on the Mad- 
ison, and Portage road ; Waunakee, Dane and Lodi, on 
the Northwestern road. 

The pioneer settlers underwent many privations. 
Among those most severely felt was the want of a good 
and near market. Milwaukee, almost the only cash 
market for wheat, was nearly one hundred miles dis- 
tant, over new, and at times, almost impassable roads. 
Frequently the expenses of marketing a load of wheat 
at Milwaukee were greater than the money received for 
the load. W. D. Stanley used to relate his experience 
in marketing his first load of wheat at Milwaukee; it 
was in the fall of the }*ear, the roads were bad and muddy, 
the weather rainy most of the time; it took nearly eight 
clays to accomplish the trip; no extraordinary expenses 
were incurred, and yet so little did he receive for forty 
bushels of wheat that when he returned home all he 
had to show for his load and eight days 1 work for him- 
self and team, was three yards of sheep's grey cloth and 
a pound of tea. 

The experience of another neighbor — John Overton, 
of Dane — was even worse than that of neighbor Stan- 
ley. He hired a 3-oke of oxen at twenty-five cents per 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VIENNA. 567 

day, his own oxen not being sufficient to haul forty 
bushels of wheat to Milwaukee over the bad roads; he 
hired a wagon at twenty-five cents per day; he paid only 
ordinary expenses. After paying for the use of the oxen 
and wao'on, he found that the f'ortv bushels of wheat did 
not pay expenses, and that he was fifty cents in debt. 

I remember marketing a load of wheat in those early 
days at Madison, selling it to " 'Squire " Seymour (then 
of the firm of Seymour & Varney), for forty cents per 
bushel, in " store pay." Wheat was the staple farm 
crop; in fact about the only thing raised on the farm 
that could be converted into money. The yield of 
wheat on the new rich lands was enormous; forty bush- 
els to the acre was not an uncommon crop. Now such 
yields of grain are rarely, if at all obtained — not even 
from virgin soil. There are several reasons for this: 
first, insect enemies of the wheat plant, then unknown, 
have come in and so multiplied as to completely destroy 
the crop in places, year after year; second, the success- 
ive crops of wheat taken from the same lands, without 
any system of judicious rotation with other crops, have 
taken from the soil the elements of plant food necessary 
to the production of large crops of wheat; and lastly, 
the comparatively few acres of land that were plowed 
by the early settlers drew from the atmosphere (nature's 
great storehouse) the plant food that now would be di- 
vided among many times the number of plowed acres. 

Many of the first settlers entered upon the lands 
without first purchasing the lands from the government 
or even pre-empting them, simply claiming them, using 
all of their means in building fences and other improve- 
ments, and farm stock, intending to make from the 
farm, or borrow, money sufficient to pay the govern- 
ment for the land. The right of the settlers to the 
lands they claimed was generally recognized and held 



56S DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VIENNA. 

sacred by the settlers, who protected each other in their 
rights, and cases were rare where claims were ''jumped" 
by settlers. Occasionally some land speculator would 
" enter" (or buy of the government) the lands claimed 
by settlers, and whenever one of that class appeared, his 
movements were watched with a good deal of anxiety. 

In the summer of 1846 a settler was informed that a 
stranger on horseback had been in the neighborhood 
looking land, and that he had obtained the numbers of 
the lands he claimed, and had left in the direction of 
Milwaukee that forenoon. The settler had not money 
enough to buy the land of the government, but he had 
a friend living on Rowan's creek, eight or nine miles 
away, who could lend him money sufficient with what 
he had, to enter his land at the land office at Milwau- 
kee; so he determined to borrow the money and reach 
the land office before the stranger. He had no horse (I 
think there was no horse owned in the town at that 
time); it was nearly noon when he started for his 
friend's; he was fortunate in finding him at home and 
in getting the money; when he returned home and com- 
menced his journey on foot to the land office, the after- 
noon was well advanced. He reached Cottage Grove 
late in the evening. He dare not enter a house to sleep 
for fear he should sleep too long, but Lay down by the 
tavern stable door where he knew he would be awaken- 
ed early in the morning. Before sunrise he was up and 
on the road; he reached Milwaukee that night. In the 
morning he entered the land office as soon as it was 
opened, and found to his great relief that he was in time 
to enter the land. Before leaving the office a stranger 
entered to buy lands, and among the numbers were his 
own lands that he had just paid for. 

Some of the old settlers will call to mind an occasion 
when the settlers of this and the adjoining town of 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VIENNA. 569 

Dane were called together to right the wrongs of a 
brother settler whose claim had been "jumped'" The 
case was an aggravated one, and was briefly this: A 
settler was living on a claim where he had built a house, 
broken and fenced a field. He was visited by a former 
acquaintance from an eastern state, who came to buy 
lands. The settler entertained the man for several days, 
accompanied him a day or two in looking up lands, and 
assisted him in getting correct descriptions. With 
these the man left for the land office and entered the 
lands claimed by his entertainer, and returned to the 
neighborhood and demanded possession of the land. The 
news of the outrage soon spread among the settlers. 
They met on a cold December (lay at the house of the 
injured settler, and caused the " claim jumper" to be 
brought in. A justice of the peace was conveniently 
near, to act as the occasion might require — to take the 
acknowledgment of a deed or hold an inquest. The 
man was stubborn; he refused to receive the money he 
paid for the land and sign a deed made ready for his 
signature. Threats and entreaties were alike unavail- 
ing. At last it was determined to try the " water cure." 
He was taken to a neighboring pond, a hole was cut in 
the ice, and he was plunged in. In his case the cold 
water cure was instantaneous and complete; he express- 
ed himself not only willing but anxious to sign that 
deed. He took the money, signed the deed, and depart- 
ed, a sadder and wetter, if not a wiser man. Few per- 
sons except early settlers fully understand the inconven- 
iences and hardships of pioneer life in those days. Liv- 
ing for years without a reliable market for their pro- 
ducts, without railroad or telegraph, schools or churches. 
The post office, store, physician and mechanic miles 
away, and perhaps a day's drive to the nearest grist mill. 
Those early pioneers were persons of robust health, and 



570 DANE COUNTY TOWNS YOKE. 

inured to toil; they were buoyed up with hope and ex- 
pectation of gain; their lives were not devoid of happi- 
ness; they were kind and hospitable, ever ready to assist 
one another. Many, even now, recall with pleasure and 
regret the days of pioneer life in old " territorial times." 



YOEK. 



The township of York lies in the northeast corner of 
Dane county, 18 miles northeast of Madison, and is 
known as town 9 north, of range 12 east. The land in 
this town is oak openings with occasionally marsh or 
meadow land, there being no prairie within its borders. 
It is watered in the southwest part by Waterloo creek, 
which is the only stream in the town. The land is of 
good quality and produces excellent crops. There are 
a number of living springs that afford an abundant sup- 
ply of water in the town. 

It is divided into eight school districts and two church 
organizations. The town raised $18,454.66 for bounties 
during the rebellion. 

York Center is the name of a small village at the 
junction of sections 15, 16, 22 and 24. It has a store, 
blacksmith shop and a few buildings. 

York is the name of the post office. 

The town of York was organized April 1, 1848. B. 
B. Freeman w r as chosen chairman; D. E. Emery and 
Walter Brown, supervisors; Martin Mead, justice of the 
peace; Otis B. Lapham, town clerk. 



PANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 571 



VERONA. 

BY DONALD MacDONALD AND J. T. HAWES. 

This township lies in the southwestern portion of the 
county, nine miles southwest of Madison, and is known 
as town six north, of range eight east. The town is 
well watered by Sugar river, which rises in the town of 
Cross Plains, and has also two branches rising on section 
7 in this town, flowing southeast and passing out on 
section thirty-four; there is also a tributary, called 
Badger Mill creek, rising on section thirteen and emp- 
tying into Sugar river on section twenty-eight. On the 
banks of the streams there are excellent marsh and 
meadow lands. The land is oak opening interspersed 
with prairie. 

The town was organized on February 17, 1847. 

The first settlers were two Scotchmen, named James 
Young and Thomas Stewart, who came to the town in 
1837. They were engaged in the butcher business in 
Galena, and afterward were employed by Edward Camp- 
bell, of Cross Plains, who formerly kept the relay house 
for the stages between Madison and Mineral Point. 

Early one Sunday morning, in the summer of 1810, a 
party of ten or twelve, among whom were George and 
William Vroman, James Young, Thomas Stewart and 
Wakefield Brothers, started out in a wagon from Ed- 
ward Campbell's house (now James Bonner's) to explore 
the upper valley of the Sugar river. After wending 
their way down the valley for about three miles thej* came 
suddenly upon the north end of an elevated prairie, and 
following the dividing ridge about a mile, came to ten 
mounds, nine of which were circular, while one had the 



572 DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 

form of a mammoth.* From this place they had a splen- 
did view of the surrounding country, the mounds being 
quite prominent and about the center of the prairie. 
After agreeing to call this beautiful spot Nine Mound 
Prairie, (section 8), they continued their journey in a 
southeast direction, and came to what is now called the 
Badger Mill creek, which they crossed. On either side 
of the creek they found a beautiful flat or level piece of 
land, containing several hundred acres without stones 
or obstructions of any kind, and covered with a luxu- 
riant growth of grass, while the soil was of the richest. 
This tract is divided by Badger Mill creek, with Sugar 
river coursing the west side, and nearly surrounded by 
groves of hard wood suitable for building and fencing 
purposes. "What more," the} r exclaimed, "could be 
desired as a building site — here we have it?" 

On the left bank of the creek a promontory with an 
elevation of from thirty to forty feet extending out about 
one-fourth of a mile, covered with timber, and com- 
manding an extensive view of the flats, was the spot 
where the two hardy Scots resolved to make their future 
home. 

The party, proceeding toward .the southern extremity 
of the prairie, found a number of prominent mounds 
which" they examined; christened the place " Mound 
Prairie," and crossing to the west side of Sugar River, 
made their way back to their starting point. 

A week afterwards, the two Scots, James Young and 
Thos. Stewart, returned to take possession of their home, 
and after locating on the south side of the creek, on 
sees. 27 and 28, they made an excavation into the side of 
the ridge six by eight feet, and then roofed it with poles 

* One of these mounds was opened by Dr. Waterbury ami others, 
in 1847, when a portion of a human skeleton was found that must 
have belonged to a person not less than six feet six inches in height. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 573 

and grass. Thus prepared — being both bachelors — the}' 
stored away such cooking utensils and household goods 
as they had brought with them, and returned to bring 
the remainder of their goods and chattels, with the in- 
tention of keeping " batch," in their new and first habi- 
tation built by white men in the township of Verona. 
During their absence, a heavy thunderstorm came on 
during the night, and on their return the following day 
from Edward Campbell's, they found the creek had be- 
come swollen into a river, whose waters they did not 
dare to cross. Waiting until it subsided, they passed 
over without difficulty, but only to find the contents of 
their new abode washed away- by the flood. After some 
searching they found the most of the missing articles 
where the water had left them. With even this experi- 
ence, they concluded to build again, but this time above 
high water mark. Moving to- the top of the. promontory, 
from which they had the commanding view of the fiats, 
on their first visit, they commenced digging in a hori- 
zontal position into an Indian mound, making an exca- 
vation ten by fourteen feet. During the digging, they 
came across the skull and bones of a human being, which 
they supposed must belong to one of the race of the 
mound builders; but dreading more the dangers of floods 
than the dry bones of past mortalit} r , they continued 
their work, and then roofed the excavation with logs, 
and poles, thatching it with grass from the creek, leaving 
a suitable place for a chimney at the end of the domicile, 
and suppling the entrance with a door, the panels of 
which were of grass, while the frame was made with an 
axe and augur, as lumber and nails were a luxury they 
could not then dream of possessing. This hastily con- 
structed home, made out of a tomb, was a comfortable 
abode against wind and rain. But while supposing 
themselves to be the peaceful possessors of their home, 



57-A DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VEEONA. 

it was matter of astonishment to them to find that they 
were not the only occupants of the knoll. A large and 
full grown lynx was occupying an adjacent portion of 
the tomb, and was concealed from them by the under- 
brush, within a few paces of their door. For a time 
they concluded not to disturb him, and so passed and 
repassed him every day, until they discovered that' he 
liked domestic fowl better than the wild, so they deter- 
mined to make him move his quarters elsewhere. Thom- 
as armed himself with a club, while James brought forth 
" Nicodemus 11 and discharged its contents into his lynx- 
ship. Wounded, but not disabled, the ferocious brute 
sprang from his lair and gave them battle. Thomas 
charged on him with his club, and by a well directed 
blow " extinguished the varmint," and thus gave them 
peaceful possession of their home and the riddance of a 
bad tenant. 

By the way, "Nicodemus , ' was a favorite fowling 
piece upon which the owner had bestowed the above so- 
briquet, and was a musket of no ordinary capacity. It 
had a barrel something less than six feet and a bore that 
could swallow a Springfield rifle. When fully loaded 
and discharged the report would shake the ground and 
reverberate among the hills and woods for miles around. 
Game that once heard its thunder never cared to come 
within its range again. In after years, the writer had 
ample opportunity of testing its good qualities, but it 
was always a matter of doubt with him whether it was 
the load or the concussion that brought down the game. 
One thing he has a convincing recollection of, however, 
that its recoil often brought him to terra firma. 

Trusting the reader will pardon our digression, we 
will now return to where we left our pioneers fairly lo- 
cated in their new home. After breaking some land, 
planting corn and potatoes, they found their provisions 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VERONA. 575 

had given out, and they had eaten their last morsel for 
breakfast. A supply could not be had nearer than Ga- 
lena, about ninety miles distant, so Thomas hitched the 
team to the wagon and started for that place. While 
the horses stood drinking in the stream it occurred to him 
that long absence from civilization had not improved 
his toilet, or personal appearance, and that the old say- 
ing of blackened boots and a clean shirt was the twin 
sister of u cleanliness and next to Godliness, 11 so to ap- 
pear before the fair maids of Galena in commendable 
style he pulled the shirt from his back and washed it 
in the creek, then returned it to its legitimate place 
on his back and drove on, trusting to an iron- constitu- 
tion and his team to carry him to where he could get 
something to eat, though there was no road to follow, 
and still less no bridges to cross, but a wild, uninhabited 
country to pass through. 

In the meantime, James, more accustomed to work 
than hunt, started as usual to the fields, accompanied 
by " Nicodemus," and trusting to Providence for his 
dinner. Noon came, but no game had crossed his path, 
and as it was useless to return home, there being noth- 
ing to eat, he kept on working in hopes of driving hun- 
ger away, and so continued in the field until the sun 
was disappearing in the west and it was time to re- 
turn. On arriving at the house a flock of black birds flew 
past and lighting in a large burr oak tree, within a few 
rods of the door, " Nicodemus " was instantly brought 
to its proper elevation and immediately the ground 
shook as by an earthquake, the hills and woods gave 
back the echo, while the denizens of the field and forest 
fled in dismay. Of the blackbirds, nine were the muti- 
lated victims, but speedily gathering them up James 
plucked and prepared them for a supper and breakfast, 
feeling, however, it was but a scant supply for a robust 



576 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VEBONA. 

man. The following day a prairie hen, hatching in the 
vicinity, and appearing to he the only living bird 
that had not been frightened out of reach or existence 
made its appearance, when " Nicodemus" was once more 
brought to the horizontal, and the luckless hen fell dead 
bereft of both life and most of her feathers. Thankful 
to a bountiful Providence for even this scanty supply, 
he was thus able to eke out enough until his partner 
returned from Galena with plenty of provisions. 

This coveted spot of earth, where the ancient mound 
builders laid their noted dead, and heaped the earth up- 
on them for an everlasting monument; where the fero- 
cious lynx made his den and the pioneers their abode, 
is now occupied by the modern and comfortable resi- 
dence of Donald Stewart, brother to the pioneer. Thos. 
went to California many 3~ears ago, where he acquired 
a fortune, but very mysteriously and suddenly dying, 
while his partner in business equally suddenly disap- 
pearing, nothing satisfactory was ever known about 
his estate. James Young is at present a resident of 
Madison, but in feeble health, though still delighting 
to recount all the privations of his early pioneer life. 

Samuel Taylor was the next settler. He built the 
first log house in the town, and which still does good 
service on the farm now owned by William Ogilvie. 
Afterwards came Patrick Davidson, and in September, 
1841, Wm. Eeoch, Peter White, Peter Martin and fam- 
ily. Mrs. Martin was here two years before she saw the 
face of another woman. Among the next settlers were 
Matthew Hawes, Andrew Patton, William Collins, and 
Magnus Leslie, with their families. Settlers now be- 
gan to come in quick succession. 

Badger Mill's was built by Wm. A. Wheeler and Geo. 
Vromau, in 1843-4, and sold to Taylor & Weston. On 
the completion of the mill a grand ball was given in 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 577 

honor of the first grist mill in the county, and the mu- 
sic for the occasion was furnished by Pritchard's band. 
A few years afterwards, the mill became the property of 
Samuel Taylor. 

The first threshing machine brought into the county 
was imported from Scotland by Patrick Davidson, liv- 
ing on section 33; but being stationary it was used only, 
for a few years, when it gave place to the portable ma- 
chines, of American make. 

Whisky was first made from malt by John, a younger 
brother of Thos. Stewart, in 1843— 1, on section 28, out of 
an imported copper still, the size of a tea kettle. It was 
used for many years in distilling a good quality of Scotch 
whisky, whose praise, as well as the liberality of the 
manufacturer, was lauded far and near over the sparsely 
settled country. The days that brewing was going on, it 
was surprising to see with what instinct the wounded 
bucks would head for the still; at least the hunters al- 
ways claimed they had lost the trail at this spot or very 
near it, and would give up the chase for the day. Tired 
and thirsty, these hunters would drop in to see how 
Scotch whisky was made, when John would refresh 
them with draughts of the double strong, fresh from 
the still, which he freel}* dealt out in a quaigh,* and 
many a hunter started home fully convinced that the 
" Scotch " was all it was said to be, and perhaps a little 
more. The kiln for drying the malt was made after the 
pattern of a hundred years ago, and was a circular pit 
dug in the ground, covered with a conical shaped roof 
and a hole in the center to allow the smoke to pass out. 
The drying floor was made of poles laid close together 

* Pronounced Kivd, a small drinking cup, made either of wood, the 
horn of an animal, or silver. The horn was used by hunters for 
convenience against breaking, but on festival occasions in Scot- 
land, during fuedal times, the silver cup was used. 
37 



578 DANE COUNTY TOWNS VEEONA. 

and covered with straw. On this the malt was spread 
to dry, with a tire underneath. The process needed 
constant attention night and day. 

An incident connected with the drying is related of 
three young Scotchmen who volunteered to sit up all 
night and dry the malt. The generous freedom granted 
to all who came to visit the still did not prevent the 
young men from smuggling a " stoup " of Scotch to 
keep up their spirits. Not aware of this fact, John fur- 
nished them with a liberal supply, that the weary hours 
might pass more cheerie. Weary hours, forsooth! 

Three blither hearts that lee-lang' night 
Ye wad na find in Christendie, 

and along thro' the " wee sma' hours " these " drouthy 
neebors " would pass around the stoup, until one of the 
party was often heard to say: " I dinna like the toddy; 
I like my whisky dry." The supply giving out, and 
concluding that the malt was as dry as themselves 
now were, they resolved to start for home; but to make 
sure that the work was complete, made up one more 
fire and then left for the house, half a mile distant. 
Arriving there they turned round, and looking in the 
direction from which they had come, beheld a bright 
glow in the southeast. While they stood wondering 
at the sight, one of them involuntarily sang — 

" It is the moon, I ken her horn, 

That's blinking in the lift sae hie, 
She shines sae bright to wyle us haine, 
But by my sooth she'll wait a wee.'' 

Morning, however, revealed to them the fact that the 
mysterious glow in the southeast was the flames of the 
malt and kiln, that having caught fire, had burned to 
ashes. 
The first public house in town was kept by Cheney Luce, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VEKONA. 579 

and culled the " Traveler's Home.' 1 Joseph. Flick was 
the first blacksmith and postmaster; Dr. Spencer the 
first physician, who was followed by Dr. Waterbury. R. 
Bunlap opened the first store, on section 21; and the 
first school house was built on the west side of what is 
now the Dane County Poor Farm, and was known as 
the Badger Prairie school house, and the first teacher 
Amy Thornton. 

The town received its name from Geo. and Win. Vro- 
man, after their native township in New York.. The 
first post office also retained the name of the town. In 
1854, the county purchased of Win. A. Wheeler, his 
farm on section 14, for county poor purposes, and built 
a brick house 10 by 60 feet, with basement, and two sto- 
ries and a half high, since which other buildings have 
been added. • 

The physical character of the town is something well 
worthy of note. The outline is distinctly marked by a 
ridge of boulders and gravel, which, during the glacial 
period on our planet, had been pushed forward by a dense 
body of ice. This ridge intersects the north line of the 
township on sec. 5, and extends diagonally across the 
south line on sec. 36. Nowhere south or west of the 
foot of this ridge are there any boulders or gravel to be 
found, except where the water may have forced pass- 
ages through. This can be seen best on sections 5, 
16 and 22. On the first section, where the waters have 
forced a passage through the ridge, immense boulders 
have been carried down the water-course a distance of 
half a mile; on sec. 16 an opposing bluff crowds the wa- 
ter close to the foot of the ridge, forming a deep and 
narrow gulch, where the lime rock can be seen project- 
ing from the bluff on the right, and boulders and gravel 
on the left. Here, also, large boulders have been car- 
ried along half a mile or more. Again, on sec. 22, at 



5S0 PANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 

Badger Mills, we find another gap in the ridge. Here 
the water has strewn boulders down the creek three- 
fourths of a mile, the smaller ones being carried farthest 
down. 

Among the other curiosities to be seen are the " sink 
holes " on sees. 17 and 18, as well as other places in the 
west part of the township. The holes are pits or de- 
pressions in the ground, some of which are twenty-five 
feet deep and thirty-five feet across the mouth. Al- 
though there is no apparent opening at the bottom, all 
the water that flows into them is drained off as fast as it 
runs in. These holes have evidently been formed by 
the action of the water, percolating through into sub- 
terranean channels, and washing the loose soil along 
with it. 

Many of the early settlers recollect seeing the " blue 
rings " on the prairies; but the plow has now obliterated 
most of them. Two, however, are still to be seen on the 
southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of sec. 17, 
where the husbandman has not yet intruded. These 

O circles are about forty-two feet in diameter, 
with an opening at one side of about three 
feet, reminding one of a circus ring. The 
belt itself is about two feet wide, and as near 
a circle as can be. There is nothing to show that there 
had ever been an elevation or depression of the soil; but 
it shows a darker color. The grass does not differ 
from that on either side, except that it starts earlier in 
spring; grows faster and shows a deep blue color, hence 
the name given to the ring. Stock of all kind crop this 
grass close to the ground, while that on either side will 
remain untouched. We have seen many of those circles, 
and they all look alike, but can give no explanation. 
Who can? 

Game, in the way of bears, wild turkeys, etc., were 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VERONA. 581 

very plenty for a number of years after the first settlers 
came, but neither of the former are now to be found. 
The curlew was also a frequenter of this section, but has 
disappeared for many years. 

There are six district and joint district schools; three 
churches, one Presbj'terian, one Baptist, and one Meth- 
odist. There is also a large number of Indian mounds 
scattered throughout the town. Patrick Davidson lived 
for many years in one of these mounds, on his land on 
section 33, and it was remarkable for its warmth in 
winter and general comfort in summer. 

There are now but few of the old settlers remaining, 
but, nevertheless, many of the youths of those times, 
now grown to maturity can recall the glad glee with 
which they hailed the social gatherings that came year 
after year, when Willie Reoch would "skirl his pipes," 
or "scrape his fiddle,'' and they could dance the "hieland 
fling.' 1 William is still as nimble in the heel or hand 
as ever, and bids fair to play either pipe or violin, at 
many gatherings yet to come. Patrick Davidson is also 
still among us, and whose reputation as the best pibroch 
player in the county still remains undisputed. 

On section 5, in the northern part of the town, on the 
farm of D. Richardson, there is a cave that has not yet 
received the proper attention of either the savans of 
science or the local interest of the citizens, and it is 
hoped that at some clay near at hand, an effort will be 
made to open the mouth of this singular natural curi- 
osity.* We cannot better describe this cave than to 

*A mystery hangs round the cave, which has perhaps been inten- 
sified by the recollection of an adventure that occurred to two of our 
citizens when hi it, and though it might have proved fatal, it could 
not possibly have occurred had a little more care been taken in pro- 
viding enough lights to cany with them. The mouth of the cave 
is under a ledge of rocks that hangs over a small valley of which it 
is the terminus, liefore the rains had washed so much debris as 
now exists around its entrance, there was a large enough opening 



582 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VERONA. 

quote from the article by Maj. H. A. Termey, in Divi- 
ne's " Four Lake Country." 

'• About 11 miles distant, and a little southwest of Madison, near 
the crest of the dividing ridge which separates the lake region from 
the valley of Sugar river, there exists the basin of an ancient pond 

for any person to pass in and out conveniently. Mr. Jas. Waddell 
and a Mr. Goodrich, started one morning on horseback to examine 
the cave, providing themselves with candles, entered and pro- 
ceeded to investigate the interior, previously tying their horses out- 
side. The fascination of desiring to continue their search farther 
than they had provided lights for, led them so far that their last 
candle was nearly exhausted ere they thought it prudent to return. 
Unable to retrace their steps, however, before it gave out entirely, 
one of them, taking off his shirt, tore it into strips, and lighting 
them, made some progress in the direction from which they had 
come. The cotton strips becoming exhausted, they were left in the 
solitude of the unknown cave, and sitting down, felt themselves 
worse than lost — buried alive. Meanwhile, one of the animals 
that had been tied to the trees broke loose, and coming home, cre- 
ated considerable anxiety to the wife and brothers of Mr. Waddell. 
The two brothers, John and Walter, knowing that James had gone 
to the cave, immediately supplied themselves with a rope and can- 
dle, and proceeded in search of him, dreading that some choke damp 
had destroyed his life. Arriving at the cave they cautiously entered, 
and lighting their candle, one stood near the mouth and held the 
rope, while the other took one end of it, and with the light started 
further in, calling his brother by name. " Repeated shouting brought 
no answer, until mental anxiety getting the better of both, they 
dispensed with the rope and proceeded together further in, repeated- 
ly calling as they went. At length a faint response was heard in 
a distant part of the cave, and as each hurried to the other, the 
sound grew more distinct, and finally brought the two lost men to 
their side, overjoyed at their fortunate escape from a living tomb. 
The four men now endeavored to return, but it seemed evident for 
some time that it was impossible. The intricate passages on every 
side of them seemed to baffle every effort to retrace their steps, while 
their nearly exhausted candle gave them but little hope. Seeking 
for the outlet, Walter discovered on a number of the pillars support- 
ing the arches, a portion of the rock assuming the shape of a 
spear > or arrow head, and always pointing one way. Conclud- 
ing to follow these marks, they finally found them point toward the 
mouth of the cave, where they soon arrived in safety about twelve 
o'clock in the evening. With deep gratitude for then - fortunate 
deliverance and second escape, they made all possible haste to re- 
lieve the anxiety of those at home, feeling satisfied that the deep 
and intricate passages of the cave were no longer a myth to them. 
It is supposed by some that the marks on the pillars were 
caused by the action of the water as it rushes through the passages 
during the heavy rain-falls; but these men were of the impression 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 583 

or lake covering about four thousand acres, whose waters have long- 
since departed, and whose drainage is directly into the face of a 
bluff. This inlet, a quarter of a century ago, was penetrated to a 
depth of nearly two thousand feet, and yet has never been fully ex- 
plored, or its mysterious depths examined by mortal eye. It is 
about Eve hunch-eel feet above the level of the four Lakes, and the 
openings apparently tend to the west. Sugar river is about one and 
a half miles distant, but no evidence has ever been discovered to 
warrant the belief that these waters anywhere enter or make a part 
of that stream. All indications, indeed, point to the certainty that 
it is an entrance to thai vast subterranean river system known to 
permeate the lead region at a great depth, and whose unknown 
outlet may be hundreds of miles away. Early explorers always 
halted from fatigue or lack of adequate preparation to proceed, and 
not because the way was not open; but nothing like an end has 
ever been reached. 

" The deposit in which this immense grotto exists, is the cliff or 
upper magnesian limestone, which at this point is known to be un- 
derlaid by a sandstone formation, whose thickness is probably forty 
or fifty feet. That the channel has been cut down to this more fria- 
ble material, at some point of its course, is not doubted, and hence 
it is naturally concluded that, if followed to the line of junction, the 
dimensions of the cave would swell to collossal proportions. As it 
exists at present, there are four narrow entrances, badly choked by 
the debris fallen at the mouth, or material carried in by cm-rents. 
The two most southern openings unite at the distance of some 
fifty or sixty feet, from whence cavern succeeds cavern, so far as 
known, for thousands of feet. Once within this rocky chamber, 
there was formerly no serious obstacles to progress ; but the present 

that they gave evidence of having been cut by human hands, per- 
haps by Indians, and that at one time the cave was known to them 
in all its intricate windings by these marks. 

The first white man known to have entered the cave, was John 
MacDonald, jr., who in 1845 went in about eight in the morning 
and losmg his way, was unable to make his escape untd far on 
in the afternoon of the same day. His intention was to go no far- 
ther than he couid observe the rays of light reflected from the 
mouth, and which he endeavored to keep steadily watching, by 
walking in a half-turned position from the mouth to the interior. 
Finally thinking he had lost the light, he started back, and was only 
able to extricate himself as above stated. His case would have 
been a hopeless one, had he been unable to find his way out, as none 
of his friends knew of his intention; indeed, it was only a thought 
of the moment with himself. 



5S4: DANE COUNTY TOWNS — VERONA, 

difficulty of entrance has kept thousands from the spot. It has also 
had the effect of keeping the walls of the interior openings in a 
much damper condition than they otherwise would he, hy prevent- 
ing the draft of outer air, which passes steadily through the whole 
known extent of the cavern. The far inner rooms have all the usual 
characteristics of the most noted caves in the country. Pendent 
stalactite has its corresponding stalagmite, at present much discol- 
ored 1 >y the newly added sediment. The walls are worn into strange 
and fantastic shapes, and everywhere exhibit the erosive power of 
rushing water. Long corridors and halls, whose smooth, rocky 
sides would seem to bid defiance to any power, connect the numer- 
ous vestibules and chambers, some of which are from twenty to 
thirty feet in height, and of great and almost unknown depth. 

" That the cave consists of several stories is evident from numer- 
ous indications, both exterior and interior. It is proved by the 
sound of voices when large parties tire exploring the numerous ram- 
ifications; by variations m level; and more particularly by a whirl- 
pool in seasons of flood, outside the entrance, which proves that the 
ancient channel has been choked by fallen rocks, and underlies the 
whole cavern thus far examined. It is still further proved by the 
clean cut bank of the outside water course, whose bottom is several 
feet below the present entrance — an impossible achievement if they 
were the natural inlet. Still further, no pond or water ever remains 
in front of the cave, in the basin below the existing entrance level, 
which would be impossible if it did not have a subterranean escape. 
< >nce cleared of accumulated debris, and instead of one or more, 
there would probably be found a cave of several stories, the lower 
of which would amply suffice to drain the region, leaving the oth- 
ers ordinarily dry and intact. Until this is done, the full extent 
and beauty of this mighty freak of nature will never be fully known 
or appreciated. Parties living close at hand give wonderful accounts 
of the phenomena witnessed after great and sudden floods, when 
the waters, dammed back by the choked entrance, rise ten or fifteen 
feet against the face of the cavern, compressing the inner air, which 
i -rapes through small fissures, to the crest of the hill, with a hiss and 
a roar somewhat akin to the shriek of a steam whistle. At one 
spot, indeed, the conversation of" parties deep in the cave can be 
heard directly overhead, showing that if extra ventilation was ever 
needed it could be easily provided for. Anything like floods, in 
this elevated basin, however, are extremely rare, and could only oc- 
cur after long continued rams, or the sudden melting of great and 
heavy bodies of snow. No rainfall from May to November has 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 5S5 

ever been known large enough to send any water into the opening, 
nor does any enter during the months of winter. 

Rev. Matthew Fox, for many years in the early set- 
tlement of the town, preached with great zeal and 
earnestness to attentive audiences, and though ministe- 
rial labors were but poorly compensated, says he was 
gratified to know that the poor had the gospel preached 
to them. He says: 

Mr. George Robinson opened Ins house at the Badger Mills for 
religious services, and early on Sunday mornings would arrange 
seats for the congregation, which two rooms generally accommoda- 
ted. Not having a pulpit or substitute for one, I took position as 
convenience dictated. On one occasion I was in one room and the 
gentleman who undertook to lead the singing in the other, and 
out of my view. After my reading a hymn, the precentor for the 
time being, raised his voice to start the tune, but made a failure; 
he made another effort — it was desperate — but, alas, it also proved 
a failure. Then the cry of despondency came, " I can't make it go." 
So it remained for me to remove the difficulty the best way I could. 

After some time a log school house was bmlt on the west side of 
Sugar river, near the residence of Andrew Patton. This served as 
our place of worship for years. 

Mr. Peter Martin was the first elder of the church. In him I found 
a wise counselor, a pleasant companion, a warm friend and a sincere 
Christian. He and his excellent wife have long since passed to their 
heavenly home. I gave place to the Rev. Jas. M 'Donald, from Scot- 
land, who labored there with much success. He, also, is deceased. 
The congregation have now a neat church and manse, quite in con- 
trast with the old school house, where, after riding ten miles on cold 
winter mornings, I would find the people gathered round the stove. 
Despairing of getting warm from it, I used to proceed with the 
services, hoping by speaking to become warm, having first taken 
the precaution to place my hat against a broken pane of the win- 
dow at my back. Yet in that wretched cabin I had precious hours, 
as I told the old, old, story, or administered the Sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper, or engaged in the sweet old psalms that are so rich 
in precious memories to the children of the covenanters, that lead 
one back to the days of Oargill and Cameron, and to the triumphs 
of truth and freedom in that noble land where God's testimony has 
never wanted a confessor since their witness for Jesus. 



5S6 DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 

ADDITIONS BY J. T. HAWES. 

My father and mother and three children moved into 
the town of Verona on the 7th clay of March, 1843. It 
was a very cold day, with deep snow, which lay on the 
ground until April, when men went to the town meeting 
in sleighs. It was a remarkably long and hard winter, 
and many cattle starved to death. I well remember in- 
stances of men coming fifteen miles to get a load of 
straw, when we would give them the load and keep 
them over night. We had moved on to Mr. Samuel 
Taylor's farm, so had plenty of feed. At this time 
there was only one other family in the town, Peter Mar- 
tin's, one mile from us. The next nearest was Joseph 
Vroman, five miles east, Ed. Campbell seven miles 
north, and McFadden, seven miles south. We living on 
the road from Janesville to Mineral Point, and as it was 
the only house for a long distance each way, having a 
good barn, something very scarce in those days, it was 
a regular stopping place for all travelers. Among 
the notables who used to frequent our house was Judge 
Irvin, lions. Moses M. and Marshal M. Stroug, Ebenezer 
Brigham, of Blue Mounds, George Delaplaine, etc. J. Gr. 
Knapp and E. M. Williamson, of Madison, used to make 
it their home while acting as surveyors in that part of 
the county. Judge Irvin was always accompanied by 
his famous horse Pedro, and dog York. My father 
one winter boarded old Pedro for the judge. If my 
memory serves me right, the first child born in the town 
was Ebenezer Collins. He was born in the evening. 
My mother was present, and earl}' the next morning she 
was called to attend the birth of Olive Wheeler, a daugh- 
ter of William A. Wheeler, who lived at the Badger 
Mills. 

The first religious services in the town were held at our 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERONA. 587 

house,, by the Rev. Salmon Stebbins. He was followed 
soon after by a Methodist missionary by the name of 
Bennett, who afterwards took up the less honorable 
calling of office seeking. About this time we had occa- 
sional preaching by the Rev. Matthew Fox, of Fitch- 
burg, a Presbyterian minister; also by his father, who 
was a Methodist preacher. He was known all over the 
country as Father Fox, or, as he sometimes styled him- 
self in his jocular way, "Ould Daddy Fox." 

In the summer of 1845 the settlers built a log school 
house on the northwest quarter of section 22, but when 
the}* had got the body up, they decided it was not 
located in the proper place, and so sold it to my father, 
who took it down and moved it on his farm, on section 
13, which he was just beginning to open. The next 
year they erected a log school house on the west edge of 
what is now known as the Dane county poor farm. 
The first school was taught by Amy Thornton, in the 
winter of 1816-7, and I was one of her scholars. It was 
the custom in those days for the teacher to board around, 
and the big boys to take turns in building the fires. 
My turn came every Monday morning, and I remember 
gettiug a frozen ear on one of those occasions. The first 
summer school was taught by Miss Noyes, and the sec- 
ond winter term by Dr. Waterbury. He being the only 
physician in that part of the country, was frequently 
called away on professional duties, and at such times he 
placed the school in charge of some one of the big boys, 
quite a number of whom were men grown. One of the 
number, an Englishman by the name of Baker, who 
was sometimes called upon to preside, caused a good deal 
of merriment one day by telling some one in a class of 
spelling, who had left out the letter n in a word, that 
"there was a hen in there somewheres." 

In 1843 my father was elected the first justice of the 



5SS DANE COUNTY TOWNS VERMONT. 

peace in the town, and my brother, Harvey L. Hawes, 
the first constable. The same year my father was elect- 
ed a supervisor of the town. Among his duties were the 
laying out and repairing of roads. This office he held 
for many years. In 1846 we moved on our own farm, 
and entertained many travelers in our little log house. 
A sign over our door with the word BEER in large let- 
ters, caused considerable attraction, as it was, for many 
miles around, the only thing of the kind outside of 
Madison. As the town has filled up fast with settlers, it 
will be difficult to follow its history further. 



VERMONT. 



The town of Vermont lies in the western part of the 
county between the towns of Black Earth and Blue 
Mounds, and known as town 7 north, of range 6 east. 

The town is well watered by Black Earth and Blue 
Mounds creeks, with their tributaries. The surface is 
very uneven, and along all the streams are bluffs or 
ridges; indeed, the face of the country is rough and hilly, 
yet there is very much desirable land suitable for all ag- 
ricultural purposes. The land is covered with oak open- 
ings and no prairie. There are no villages in the town. 

The town of Vermont was named by one of the set- 
tlers after his native state. The first settler was a Ger- 
man, named Joshua Harmony, who located here in 1846. 
I. C. Steele, who located on section 7, and S. Batty, on 
section 6, were among the early settlers. The town was 
organized in 1855. The first officers were Whalen Has- 
brook, Isaac C. Steele and Jno. Caldwell; Aaron Dana, 
clerk. The first sermon was preached in 1819, by H. 
Mainard, of the Methodist church. The first school dis- 
trict was organized in 1850; A. Campbell first teacher. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MIDDLETON. 5S9 



MEDDLETOK 

BY A. B. PARMENTER, Esq. 

This township is situated near the center of Dane 
county, adjoining the township of Madison on the west, 
and is known in the government survey as township 7 
north, of range 8 east. It is watered in the northeast 
part by Pheasant Branch creek, which flows easterly 
through the village of the same name into Lake Mendo- 
ta. It is also watered in the northwest portion by Black 
Earth creek, where on sections eight and nine there is a 
wide expansion known as Mud Lake, and adjoining which 
are large and now very valuable marsh land, that affords 
excellent yields of hay. This creek rises in what was 
formerly known as the big marsh, which contains a rich 
and extensive deposit of peat. These peat beds have 
been tested and found to be of a pure vegetable deposit, 
and at no distant day, will be utilized as fuel. 

In the year 1838, the Hon. Thomas T. Whittlesey, 
from Connecticut, became the purchaser from the gov- 
ernment of a large tract of land at the head of Lake 
Mendota, where he laid out the village of Pheasant 
Branch, and erected a steam saw mill in the year 1849, 
which at that early day furnished large quantities of 
hard lumber, which was used for building purposes in 
Madison as well as at the Branch and surrounding coun- 
try, until the completion of the railroad, when a more 
desirable article could be obtained. 

The surface of the township is diversified by hills and 
valleys, prairie and oak openings; a little of it broken 
with limestone ridges. The land altogether is rich and 
productive, and is under excellent cultivation. 

There are three villages in this town — East Middle- 



590 DANE COUNTY TOWNS JIIDDLETON. 

ton, Pheasant Branch and Middleton Station. The C, 
M. & St. P. R. R. runs through the latter village, enter- 
ing on section 13, in the east, and passing out on section 
7, in a western direction. East Middleton has one 
store and a post office, and two organized churches. 
The cemetery is also in this village. Pheasant Branch 
at one time bid fair to exceed Middleton Station, if the 
railroad had only diverted its course and passed through 
the former instead of the latter. A good grist mill was 
built in Pheasant Branch by Wheeler & Gault in the 
years 1853-4, and was in successful operation fof many 
years. Before railroad communication, this was the cen- 
tral mart for a large circle of trade. The village still 
continues to be a place of considerable trade. 

The town has a population of over 1,700, and the vil- 
lage of Middleton Station about 300. There are four 
post-offices in the town, viz.: Pheasant Branch, East 
Middleton,West Middleton and Middleton Station. The 
latter village has two church edifices, which are oc- 
cupied by five religious denominations; two organized 
temperance societies, the Good Templars and Mendotas; 
six secret societies, six saloons, two doctors, but no lawyer. 

As an evidence of the amount of business done in Mid- 
dleton, it is recorded that for two successive months 
there was shipped every day from the station a full train 
of freight cars loaded with grain, while there were taken 
in at the several warehouses, and shipped in one day, 
fifty-two car loads. The same fall there were shipped to 
Milwaukee 10,070 bushels of wheat, which, from the sta- 
tistics of that year, showed that it was more than Mad- 
ison, or any other station in the state, or even in five 
states, except Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien. 

The town received its name from Harry Barnes, after 
a place in Vermont. It was organized in 1817, and at 
its meeting in April, 1818, elected the following officers: 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MIDDLETON. 591 

Thomas Whittlesey, chairman, Orson Cook, Linus M. 
Palmer, supervisors; F. J. Starr, town clerk; Andrew 
Starr, assessor; John B. Colton, collector; La Fayette 
Cleveland, George Taylor, constables; Hawley Cook, 
Andrew Starr, John B. Colton, school commissioners; 
Benj. Cleveland, Geo. Taylor, Enoch Noyes, road com- 
missioners; Benj. Cleveland, Sen., treasurer; Benj. 
Cleveland, Jr., Orson Cook, Linus M. Palmer, justices 
of the peace; Orson Cook, sealer of weights and measures; 
Thomas T. Whittlesey, James D. Sanford, Linus M. Pal- 
mer, fence viewers. They polled nearly twenty votes. 

The following firms are engaged in the purchase of 
cattle and hogs, and have convenient yards and build- 
ings erected for successfully carrying on their business: 
Messrs. Dufrenne, Lyle & Richardson; Messrs. Richard 
Green & Daniel Vernon; Mr. Fritz Elver. , 

Mr. Richard Green Jias a large elevator, run by steam, 
and does an extensive business in the buying of grain. 
Dufrenne & Lyle conduct a general merchandise store, 
with a large and increasing trade. Drs. A. A. Rowley 
and S. C. Coolridge have well selected stocks of drugs. 

The Washington Hotel is kept by Daniel Maul; Amer- 
ican House, by Gerhard Aussem; Mendota House, by 
Wm. Hoffman; blacksmith and wagon shops, by John 
Prien, Herman Sass, H. Gerds, and G. H. Wolf; fur- 
niture shop, by Geo. Schneider; undertaker, L. Good- 
man. There is also a large lumber business carried on 
b}* Green & Kingsley, and a planing mill by A. B. King- 
sley. House builders, H. P. Rider, Thomas Fleming 
and John Sander; masons, E. Page, John Eventual and 
John Eggars; boot and shoe man facturers, C. Lammert, 
F. Plath; gardener and fruit grower, Henry Schuster; 
bee and honey dealer, John Elver. This business is be- 
coming quite general throughout the town. 



592 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 



MAZOMANIE. 

BY HENRY HOWARTH AND HENRY Z, MOULTON. 

This township, located in the northwest corner of the 
county, was formerly a part of the town of Black Earth, 
and comprises the north half of township 8 north, of 
range 6 east, and fractional part of town 9, range 6, 
lying south and east of the Wisconsin river. The 
northern portion of this town bordering on the river, 
was at one time low and marshy; but now, extensive 
tracts have been drained and brought under cultivation, 
and in time, will no doubt become very valuable and im- 
portant lands. Other portions consist of prairie and 
oak openings, with a rich and productive soil, watered 
by the Black Earth creek and its tributaries, and is un- 
der excellent cultivation, Avhile portions in the eastern 
and southern parts of the town are bluffy and much less 
valuable. 

This place may be said to be entitled to the distinction 
of having been "discovered, 1 ' as the early explorers 
passed down the Wisconsin over two hundred years 
since, and viewed the lands of which the town is com- 
posed, with its extensive marshes bordering upon the 
river, and its forests and bluffs in the background; the 
first authentic account of which is that of Father James 
Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, who, in company with 
Joliet and five other Frenchmen, passed clown the river 
in June, 1673, on their celebrated voyage of discovery to 
the Mississippi. At this time, Wisconsin, then unknown 
as a separate political division, was under the govern- 
ment of France, and so remained until 1759, when it 
passed into the hands of the British. During the war 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS HAZOMANIE. 593 

of the Revolution (in 1780), a force of Canadians and 
Indians passed down the river to secure a quantity of 
furs, deposited by Indian traders at Prairie du Chien, 
from falling into the hands of the Americans. In the 
" war of 1812," another force of about five hundred and 
fifty men, under the command of Col. Win, McKay, of 
the British army, consisting of Regulars, Canadians and 
Indians, passed down the river for the purpose of re- 
ducing the fort at Prairie du Chien, and after a desper- 
ate resistance on the part of the American troops sta- 
tioned there, the fort was compelled to surrender. This 
was in 1811. 

In the Black Hawk war, Mazomanie was the theater 
of one of the most decisive battles of the campaign, 
known as the " Battle of Wisconsin Heights." The In- 
dians having left the Four Lakes, retreated towards the 
Wisconsin, and the troops under Gen. Henry and Cols. 
Dodge and Ewing, numbering about six hundred men, 
having struck their trail, pursued them, until at five 
o'clock p. m. on the 21st day of July, 1832, they over- 
took them in a ravine, about three miles south of the 
present site of Sauk city. The battle was commenced 
by the Indians trying to gain possession of the bluffs or 
heights (located on section 21 in this township) for a 
better position, but were defeated in their designs, and 
driven with great loss into the marshes and low grounds, 
and during the following night they crossed the river. 
The troops remained during the following day scouring 
the country for the enemy, and preparing litters for the 
wounded, camping at night on the farm now owned by 
J. V. Cairns, on section 15. The next morning the}' 
returned to the fort at Blue Mounds. 

In the year 1813, the first settlement was made in 

this township, and large quantities of government lands 

were entered by the " British Temperance Emigration 
38 



594 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 

Society.'' Charles Wilson, the agent of this society, 
accompanied by Joshua Rhodes and Alfred Senier, were 
the first settlers. They arrived at this place on Christ- 
mas day, in 1843, and for shelter and protection against 
the inclemencies of this season of the year, took posses- 
sion of an old, deserted Indian wigwam. They were 
soon after joined by John Holmes and James Ray. 
They at once commenced the erection of log houses for 
the accommodation of emigrants that were expected the 
following season, under the supervision of Mr. Wilson, 
upon whom devolved the duty of purchasing and locat- 
ing the lands of the society, dividing them into farms of 
the proper size, and making such improvements as its 
rules required. 

In the spring of 1844, they commenced breaking up 
the soil and putting in crops; five acres to each farm of 
eighty acres was to be prepared in this manner, and a 
log house erected thereon 14 by 20 feet, and one and a 
half stories in height. 

In the latter part of June of the same year, the first 
of the expected emigrants arrived, among whom were 
George Robbins, John and Wm. Wrigglesworth, Fran- 
cis Wilson. Robert North, John Royston, Wm. Thomp- 
son, Christopher Bennett, John Kerr, Charles Reeve, 
Robert Leach, John Linley and Robert Liman, with 
their families. Wm. Summerville was also among the 
number, and was the first to sicken and die, and the first 
to be buried in the cemetery, on the grounds now occu- 
pied for that purpose. 

It may no.t be uninteresting to give a short account 
of the society, under whose auspices these first settle- 
ments were made. The " British Temperance Emigra- 
tion Society " was organized in Liverpool, in 1842, with 
branches in many of the important cities and towns in 
England. The officers of which were Lawrence Hey- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 595 

worth, Robert Gorst, Charles Wilson, Charles Reeve and 
George Cutler. Each member paid one shilling per 
week per share, and a share costing £25, when full paid, 
entitled the holder to a farm of eighty acres, to be 
selected by the agent of the society. When a sufficient 
amount of funds would accumulate, they were sent to 
the agent here for the purchase of lands from the gov- 
ernment; an election would then be had for the purpose 
of selecting members to emigrate and occupy the farms. 
Those that were thus selected would immediately pre- 
pare for emigration. But should any member desire, he 
could sell his right to another member, taking his 
chances at the next election. Each member, upon his 
arrival, would be conducted to the farm selected for him 
and which would be conveyed to him in legal form upon 
the full payment of his share. The lands of the society 
extended from Mill Creek, in Iowa county, through 
Mazomanie, Berry, Springfield and Westport, and about 
seventy families settled in the vicinity under its auspices. 
After a year or two, however, there began to be com- 
plaints, and a great deal of discontent was manifested 
among its members; so much so, that soon after, the 
society was entirely broken up. 

The first marriage that occurred among the settlers 
was that of Robert Leach to Miss Emma Reeve, daugh- 
ter of Charles Reeve, Esq. They were married on the 
25th day of September, 18-14, by Wm. Welch, Esq., then 
a magistrate residing in Madison. Melville Wriggles- 
worth was the first male child born in the settlement; 
this event occurring in the fall of 184-1. He was the 
son of John and Elizabeth Wriggles worth, and lived to 
reach manhood, but his health, always feeble, gave out, 
and he died some years since. The first physician of 
the settlement was W. B. Bishop, who came from Liver- 
pool in 1816, where he had practiced medicine for forty 



596 DAJSTE COUNTY TOWNS — MAZOMAJSTIE. 

years. He was not strictly a resident of the township, 
hut lived a few rods across the line in Iowa county. 
Charles Wilson, who came in 1844, Avas the first lawyer, 
and William Powell, a few years after, commenced 
the practice of law. His sign may now he seen on the 
little office adjoining his residence on Hudson street, 
although his health will not permit of active work in 
his profession. 

The first school house, a log building, was built in 
1849, on the "school section; 1 ' these lands were soon 
after sold, but the owner would not sell any portion for 
the school house to remain upon, nor would he allow it 
to be removed; but on one pleasant, moonlight night, it 
took a " change of venue, '" and stood next morning on 
lands owned by Henry" Howarth, on section 15. The 
first public school was taught here by Mrs. Mary Wil- 
liams, in the same year. This school house was also 
used for many years as a place of worship. Services 
were usually conducted by lay brethren of the Primitive 
Methodist church, residing in the town. Every fourth 
Sabbath they were conducted by circuit preachers from 
Mineral Point who, although having to travel winter 
and summer, over rough roads and through all kinds of 
weather, a distance of forty-five miles, were ever faith- 
ful and punctual in the discharge of their laborious du- 
ties. George Cutler, then a local preacher, also con- 
ducted services here, and in 1850, organized a small 
independent society, called the United Methodists, which 
organization was maintained for about ten years. Upon 
a division of the town into school districts, this school 
house became the property of " District No. 2," now 
comprising the entire village and a large portion of the 
town, the first officers of which were Henry Howarth, 
John Kerr and T. S. North. Further reference will be 
made to this district in treating of the growth and busi- 
ness statistics of the village. 



DANK COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 507 

" School District No. 3 " is located in the eastern por- 
tion of the town; has a fine frame school house suffi- 
ciently large to accommodate the number of pupils in 
attendance. The present officers are Thos. H. Ward. 
Walter A. Johnson and Lewis Blynn. 

There are at the present time three joint school dis- 
tricts, in addition to the districts mentioned, and the 
entire amount now expended for educational purposes, 
is about |3,500. 

In concluding this sketch of the early pioneers of the 
settlement, it will not be out of place to notice some of 
the privations and hardships necessarily endured in their 
efforts to make for themselves homes in the distant wil- 
derness. As will be inferred from the manner in which 
they secured their homesteads, being by weekly install- 
ments of about twenty-five cents, they were generally 
men of limited means, understood but little of agricul- 
ture — having principally been mechanics, tradesmen 
and professional men in their native land — and in 
opening up and improving their farms the strictest 
economy was required to procure the necessaries of life. 
When short of provisions it was the usual custom to 
borrow from each other until such times as the larder 
could again be replenished. In some instances resort 
was had to the coffee mill to grind " flour " enough for 
bread. One such mill, owned by Dr. Wallace, of Iowa 
county, and brought by him from " the old country," 
was kept running for days together for this purpose. 
In one instance a settler by the name of Joseph Roger- 
son " backed " fifty pounds of flour from " Badger State 
mills " on Sugar river. Francis Wilson, during the 
summer of 1814, accompanied by another settler, went 
to the old " Hickox mill " in Iowa county for flour, a 
distance of eighteen miles. They took two yoke of 
oxen, and, after an absence of four days, returned with 



598 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MAZOMANIE. 

only one hundred pounds; this amount, when divided 
among the entire settlers, furnished a very small allow- 
ance for each family. Only by waiting for the toll from 
grists brought to the mill during tbeir stay were they 
enabled to procure even this small amount. For a long 
time this was the nearest flour mill, and settlers were 
obliged to make two, and sometimes three, trips before 
getting their grists. At one time, while this mill was 
being repaired, Mr. Wrigglesworth and Reuben Royston 
started in search of some other mill, and were gone over 
a week before they could find one to grind their wheat. 

The manner of threshing and cleaning wheat in those 
days was somewhat primitive; they would clear off a 
large space of ground, put on about four yoke of oxen 
and tramp it out; the cleaning was performed by throw- 
ing the grain in the air and allowing the wind to 
blow out the chaff. 

In 1848, there began to be a surplus of wheat, a por- 
tion of which was traded off for groceries and other 
necessaries. About this time they commenced hauling 
to Milwaukee. The manner of making trips, to this 
city was, for three or four farmers to start together, each 
having not less than two pair of oxen — horses then be- 
ing almost unknown in the settlement — they would 
take their supplies from home and, camping out nights, 
would cook their provisions by the heat of their camp 
fires. Thirty bushels was considered a fair load, for 
which they obtained from forty to fifty cents per bushel. 
On their return they would sometimes load up with salt 
or merchandise for Madison and other places, as they 
could find the opportunity. The round trip was usually 
made in about two weeks. Many times, from delays 
caused by bad weather and roads, or some accident to 
team or wagon, their expenses would use up nearly the 
entire proceeds of their wheat. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIJE. 599 

The settlers procured what few necessaries they re- 
quired or could afford, from Sauk City — a town of 
"one stores; 1 ' from Dover, in Iowa county; from Poker- 
ville (West Blue Mounds), twelve miles distant, or from 
Madison, a distance of twenty-three miles. When any 
one went to the latter place, he would procure such 
necessaries as were required by his neighbors, and 
would also get the entire mail for the settlement. 

The times were very hard for several years after the 
first settlements, and very little money was to be had. 
Fifty cents per day was considered a good price for a 
day's work; usually paid for in flour, meat or other pro- 
visions. The usual price paid for harvest help was one 
bushel of wheat per day. 

The early settlers had but little dealings with the 
Indians, although for many years they were passing up 
and down the Wisconsin for the purpose of hunting 
and trapping, and occasionally would camp in the near 
vicinity. They were always friendly and peaceably dis- 
posed. In 1851, a procession of from six to seven hun- 
dred of the following tribes, Chippewas, Pottawattamies, 
Winnebagoes, Stockbridges and Hurons, passed along, 
marshaled by the United States authorities, with a band 
of music and several banners of the stars and stripes 
floating to the breeze. They were being conducted to 
their several reservations west of the Mississippi, but be- 
fore their arrival at their respective destinations, it was 
found that at least one-half of their numbers were miss- 
ing, they having dropped off in the night time, prefer- 
ring their Wisconsin homes to the comparatively un- 
known territory to which they were being removed. 

The town was first called Gorstville; this was subse- 
quently changed to Pleasant Valley, then to Farmers- 
ville, and then to Black Earth. The southern portion, 
being the south half of town eight, still retains this 



600 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MAZOMANIE. 

name, but the northern portion was set off in 1858, un- 
der the name of Mazomanie, a name given to it by the 
first proprietors of the village, signifying, in the Indian 
language,. '"' The iron that walks,' 1 or " Walking iron," 
and should be written with one capital, not as a com- 
pound word, as is sometimes done. 

The first officers for the new town of Mazomanie were: 
Supervisors — John Greening, chairman, James Craney, 
Philip Wagner; town clerk — Wm. L. Freeman; treas- 
urer — S. E. Waterhouse; assessor — James Hayes; 
town superintendent — Dr. E. D. Bishop; justices — John 
Greening, Barney Campbell, John Huntington, Thomas 
S. North; constables — Joseph Bennett, Wm. Brink. 

The present officers are : Supervisors — Luther Clark, 
chairman, Joseph Bennett, H. B. Catlin; to/rn clerk — 
H. Z. Moulton; treasurer — B. R. Cowdery; assessor — 
Ed. Pratt; justices — George Cutler, S. Moulton, H. 
Z. Moulton; constable — John AVilcox. 

The population of the township at the present time 
is about eighteen hundred. The value of real and per- 
sonal property of the town and village for the year 1877, 
as appears from the assessment roll of the town, is 
$457,000. 

Village. — While the Milwaukee and Mississippi rail- 
road was in process of construction through our state, 
and the line was being surveyed through this town, the 
directors of the road noticed that a fine location pre- 
sented itself for a village, north and west of the bluff on 
section 16. They observed that by maintaining a proper 
grade in building their road, a fine water power could 
be developed by making the grade serve the purpose of 
confining the waters of Black Earth Creek upon one 
side for a distance of about three-fourths of a mile, and 
determined to take advantage of the circumstances thus 
presented, to lay the foundation of a thriving village. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — ■ HAZOMANIE. 601 

According!}', after purchasing a portion of the north- 
west quarter of said section 16, Messrs. E. H. Brodhead, 
Eliphalet Cramer, Anson Eldred and Moses Scott, as 
proprietors, joined with Abram Ogden, a previous owner, 
laid out what is known as the original plat of the vil- 
lage. This was in the early part of the year 1855. 
During the same year, John Hudson and William Rob- 
inson platted a portion of section 9, under the respective 
titles of Hudson's, Robinson's and University additions, 
and, subsequently, Henry Walker and Alfred Senier 
platted portions of sections 8 and 16, under the respect- 
ive names of Walker's and Senier's additions. The 
proprietors of Prairie addition were A. W. Curtis, John 
Catlin and Edward Barber. 

During this year the first buildings were erected, and 
before the close of the season, quite a village presented 
itself to the gaze of those old settlers who had toiled and 
endured so much, and with a near prospect of a railroad 
upon which they could send away their surplus produce, 
and through its influence, could once more enjoy the 
benefits of social intercourse with the outside world, be- 
gan to feel that they were indeed ' u about to receive 
that for which they had so long wrought." 

The first arrivals were D. W. Bronson and family, 
David and W. H. Whitney. Mr. Bronson and the 
Whitne3 ; s immediately commenced work on the first 
store building erected in the village, the entire party 
living in the meantime in a shanty situated in the rear 
of the site upon which the " Carlisle House " now 
stands. 

The first store was opened by S. Holbrook and John 
Martin, followed soon after by that of S. E. Water- 
house and D. W. Bronson. George Butler built and 
opened the first hotel under the name of the " American 
House/' This was the first frame building erected in 



002 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MAZOMANIE. 

the village. It was rebuilt and improved in 1869, and 
the name changed to the " Carlisle House." 

Soon after, the ".Mazomanie Hotel,' 1 now known as 
the " Freeman House," was built by H. A. Cowdery. The 
first blacksmith shop was established by John and 
Joseph Wilson. 

Among those that came here in 1855, not already 
mentioned, were Saulsbury Bros., Mr. Parsons, John 
Robinson, C. D. Haven, Gr. T. Whitney, Allen and 
Angus Macdonald, W. U. Hover, L. D. Brooks, A. S. 
Sanborn, William Allen, and S. H. Vedder. 

G. T. Whitney was the first postmaster, but the busi- 
ness of the postoffice was transacted by Messrs. Bronson 
and Waterhouse. He was appointed under the ad- 
ministration of Franklin Pierce, and was succeeded by 
William L. Freeman. D. W. Bronson, the present 
postmaster, was appointed in 1861, and has held the 
office ever since. 

In June, 1856, the railroad first reached this village, 
and gave at once a fresh impetus to its growth and 
prosperity. The first passenger cars arrived, and the 
first time-table was established on the 7th of that month, 
and on the 10th there was a rousing " Railroad Cele- 
bration " in honor of the event, said to be among the 
greatest gatherings ever had in Mazomanie. People 
were here from the surrounding country for a great dis- 
tance, and it was no doubt a day of general rejoicing. 

The depot, a very fine structure, was built the preced- 
ing year. This building, however, was destroyed by 
fire and rebuilt in 1857. A large and commodious eat- 
ing house was built adjoining the depot, and for several 
years, trains stopped for refreshments at Mazomanie in 
place of Madison. In 1862, the building was taken 
down and removed, thus becoming one of the institu- 
tions of the past. 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MAZOMANIE. 603 

John B. Stickney was the first depot agent, and is 
now the oldest acting station agent in the state of Wis- 
consin. He came on the advent of the cars, and has 
ever since retained the position, which fact is sufficient 
evidence that he has the confidence, not only of the 
managers of the road, but of the community of which 
he has so long been a prominent and active member. 

Mr. Hutchins was the first wheat-buyer', but the first 
grain warehouse was erected by L. A. Lincoln in 1856. 

Manufacturing Interests. — In 1857, Lynch & 
Walker, of Milwaukee, became the owners of the water 
power before referred to, and erected thereon a large and 
commodious flouring mill. A few years after this the 
mill was purchased by William Thompson, who became 
a permanent resident of the place, and for many years 
transacted a large and profitable milling business, giv- 
ing employment to a great number of operatives. Mr. 
T. spent large sums of money in improvements on the 
mill. He was an active business man and a good citi- 
zen; generous, open hearted, and took great interest in 
all public improvements. The mill is now operated by 
Messrs. E. Sanderson & Co., of Milwaukee — under the 
charge of J. T. Vought — who have made extensive al- 
terations and improvements-, involving an outlay of 
about $15,000. Considering the strength and perma- 
nency of its water power, its close proximity to the rail- 
road, its capacity for work and thorough state of repair, 
and its ready access to the markets and to the large 
grain growing districts of Iowa and Minnesota, it must 
be placed among the very best flouring mills of the state. 

The frame flouring mill, now standing on section 8, 
was moved to its present location in 1861, by John Crop- 
per and Ch. L. Jacobi, and was operated by Mr. Cropper 
until 1876, when he sold his interest to Robert Patter- 
son. This is a much smaller mill, and is intended prin- 



60-1 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MAZOMANIE. 

cipally for custom work, although it has the requisite 
machinery for manufacturing what is termed " patent " 
flour. 

The next important business enterprise established in 
the place was the manufacture of fanning mills, and out 
of its introduction important branches of industry have 
been built up, in giving employment to a great number 
of mechanics, and support to many families. In 1860, 
John Warren, Nathaniel and Stillman Moultou, built a 
large three story brick and stone building for this pur- 
pose, with steam power and machinery for planing, match- 
ing, sawing, etc. A large business was established, 
which steadily increased from year to year; but on the 
2d day of May, 1865, a great calamity befel them, in the 
loss by fire of their building and entire stock, prepared 
during the preceding winter ready for " setting up " 
into mills. N. Moulton having withdrawn in 1863, the 
loss fell upon the other members of the firm, and was 
very severe, there being no insurance. A circumstance 
worthy of note in this connection is the fact that the 
machine shop of N. T. Davies, situated on the exact lo- 
cation, was destroyed by fire on the lOthday of May, 
1877, exactly twelve years after. 

George and N. T. Davies, the successors of J. War- 
ren & Co., rebuilt the premises and made extensive addi- 
tions and improvements, both in buildings and machine- 
ry, including the establishment of a foundry and ma- 
chine shop. N. T. Davies, now the sole proprietor, is 
doing a large business in the manufacture of fanning 
mills, wagons, milk safes and other farm machinery, 
having with commendable pluck and perseverance re- 
built the portion recently destroyed by fire. 

Pritchard and Davies are also extensive manufactur- 
ers of mills and safes. 

Fanning mills are also manufactured by D. N. Smith 
and George Davies. 



DANE COrXTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 605 

John Parman and Charles J. Trager are each the own- 
er and proprietor of a large establishment for the man- 
ufacture of wagons and carriages; and for strength, du- 
rability, style and finish, their work will compare favor- 
ably, if not excel, that of any other establishments of 
their kind in the country. As evidence of this fact, they 
are receiving orders not only from the city of Milwau- 
kee, but from places in the northwest and southwest 
portions of our state, as well as from Iowa and Minne- 
sota. 

The Mazomanie cheese factory, owned and operated 
by Messrs. Humphrey & Sherwin, ranks among the im- 
portant business enterprises of the town. This factory 
was built early in 1875, and under the efficient manage- 
ment of Mr. Daniel Humphrey, with Theo. J. Elmer as 
cheese maker, has been very successful, thus proving the 
wisdom of the merchants and business men who con- 
tributed so liberally to its establishment. 

John Darlington is the manufacturer and patentee of 
a washing machine called the " Darlington Washer," 
which is said to be an excellent machine. 

Churches. — The First Congregational Society was 
organized at the log school house before mentioned, in 
1853, by Rev. David M. Jones, of Arena. Through his 
labors a church was erected in 1855, of which he was the 
first pastor. Subsequently this church building became 
the property of the Evangelical Association, by whom 
it was used until 1871, when it became private property. 
In 1871 the society built a very fine frame church on 
Hudson street, under the labors of the Rev. M. M. Mar- 
tin, who is the present pastor. 

The First Baptist Society of Mazomanie and Black 
Earth was organized April 11, 1857, with Rev. Moses 
Rowley its first pastor. For many years they occupied 
the seminary. In 1865, the society was reorganized as 



606 DANE COUNTY TOWNS — MAZOMA.NIE. 

the First Baptist Society of Mazomanie. In 1866, un- 
der the labors of Rev. Moses Pickett, they built a 
large frame church on Hudson street, and services 
are now conducted therein by Rev. Joseph Bowman, of 
Lodi. 

In 1847, the Primitive Methodist Society was organ- 
ized by Rev. George Stevens, a local preacher, and ser- 
vices held in private dwelling-houses. In 1850, the 
society was reorganized by Rev. James Alderson, and 
attached to the Mineral Point circuit, and in 1857, they 
built a small frame church. Although this society is 
small, they have never failed in keeping up regular ser- 
vices. The present year (1877) they have erected a fine 
parsonage near the church. The present pastor is Rev. 
John Ralph. 

The Methodist Episcopal Society was organized No- 
vember 7, 1856, with a membership of eighteen. Rev. 
Robert Rowbotham was the first regular pastor. The 
church now owned by this society — the largest and 
most commodious church building in the village — was 
erected under the labors of the Rev. J. D. Searles. The 
corner-stone was laid by Gen. Fallows, with due form- 
ality, in June, 1885, and in September, 1867, it was de- 
dicated. Bishop Simpson preached the dedicatory ser- 
mon; Dr. Raymond, of Evanston College, assisted in the 
services. The present pastor is Rev. E. T. Briggs. 

■St. Luke's Mission (Episcopal) was organized Jan- 
uary 8, 1868, and Rev. J. B. Pradt called as missionary. 
For about two years, services were held in the Town 
Hall. In December, 1869, they held their first service 
in St. Luke's Church, a fine brick edifice erected prin- 
cipally through the liberality of William Thompson and 
Richard Black. The present missionary in charge is 
Rev. Henry M. Green. 

The first regular preacher of the Evangelical Associa- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOHANTE. 607 

t/on, so far as can be ascertained, was Rev. Henry Ra- 
gartz, who preached here in 1853. 

Services were usually held at the residence of differ- 
ent members, until 1864, when they purchased the 
church building formerly owned by the Congregational 
Society. This they occupied until 1874, when they 
found, from the growth of the society, that they needed 
more room. They built a very pretty and substanial 
stone church on Hudson Street, which was dedicated 
on the 29th of October of the same year, by Bishop 
Jacob Escher. Rev. Peter Held is the present pastor. 

Catholic. — In 1856, this church erected a frame edifice 
of which Father Stroker was the first regular priest. In 
the year 1863, finding their church building too small 
for the congregation, a new building was erected under 
the labors of Father McGinty. They now have a fine 
frame edifice, with a dwelling near for the residence of 
the priest. Father Mazeaud is the present priest. 

Secret Societies. — A dispensation was granted De- 
cember 5, 1857, for the organization of a Masonic lodge, 
and on the 9th day of June of the following year, a 
charter was granted to Crescent Lodge, No. 97, A. F. 
& A. M.; with Alden S. Sanborn, its first master, and 
John B. Stickney, its first secretary. The membership 
of this lodge has increased gradually until it now num- 
bers sixty-eight members. Illustrative of changes con- 
stantly going on in society is the fact that upwards of 
one hundred and fifty names have been enrolled as mem- 
bers of this Lodge since its organization. 

The most serious drawback that this society has en- 
countered was, in the loss of their lodge-room and en- 
tire furniture and records, destroyed by fire, May 2, 
1865. They had bought and paid for the third story 
of the building erected by J. Warren & Co. This gave 
them a large and commodious hall, and was well fur- 



COS DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 

nislied. Tlie last payment on the hall was made but a 
few weeks previous to the fire. They now hold their 
meetings in the third storv of Turck's block. B. R. Cow- 
deryis the present master, and H. Z. Moultoii, secretary. 

Good Templars. — Mazomanie Lodge, No. 65, I. 0. Gr. 
T. (afterwards changed to No. 14), was instituted Jan- 
uary 15, 1858, with William Robinson, W. C. T., and 
John Howarth, W. R. S. This lodge has met with 
varying success since its organization. Like all other 
institutions having for their object the advancement of 
moral and social reform, it has its seasons of depression 
as well as ot prosperity ; but there is little question that 
this order, aside from its direct effect upon individuals, 
has exerted a great influence in building up a health}' 
temperance sentiment in the community. The mem- 
bership of this lodge is about one hundred and thirty. 
Samuel Murrish is its present W. C. T., and T. F. Stair 
its present W. R. S. They have a hall in Turck's 
block, and meet on Friday evening of each week. 

Mendotas. — Montezuma Council, No. 8, I. 0. M., was 
organized February 22, 1876. This is a social order, 
having temperance as one of its prominent objects. 
The membership is seventy-eight. The present officers 
are L. C. Oulmann, Sachem, and W. Y. Ridell, Writer 
They meet in Good Templar's hall every Monday eve 
ning. 

The Patrons of Husbandry, No. 318, was organized 
January 10, 1871, and meet on Saturday evenings in 
u Blitz" hall. Their membership is forty-six. Present 
officers are Henry Powell, Master, and 0. B. Haseltine, 
Secretary. 

Public Schools. — Mazomanie has for many years 
been justly celebrated for the efficiency of her public 
school, which has been the principal means of attract- 
ing many families to our place for the educational ad- 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 609 

vantages it offered. This is mainly attributable to the 
liberality of its citizens in providing suitable buildings, 
and in the employment of teachers of undoubted capa- 
bilities as principals, among whom may be mentioned 
Lyman Hutchinson, N. E. Goldthwaite, W. A. De La 
Matyr, M. E. Wadsworth, L. D. Harvey and Miss Inez 
C. Childs, all of whom have materially contributed to its 
success. The present principal is Charles F. Harding, 
of Springfield in this county. 

In 1857, a frame school house was built to take the 
place of the log house before referred to, of ample size, 
as was supposed, to accommodate the increase of pupils 
consequent upon the growth of the village; but it was 
bandy finished, before a portion had to be sent to the 
seminary building. In 1861, was commenced the erec- 
tion of a brick edifice, 50 by 50 feet, two stories in height. 
This was occupied the following year, when the school 
was first organized under the. graded system. In 1868, 
an addition was built, 30 by 50 feet, of the same height, 
making a building 50 by 80 feet, which was arranged for 
five departments. In 1876, however, it was again found 
necessary to occupy the former building, now known as 
the Town Hall, and to establish a primary school near 
the Wisconsin river. 

In 1876, a free high school was established in the dis- 
trict, receiving state aid as provided by law. The grade, 
however, was already sufficient to enable pupils to enter 
the freshman class at the State University without fur- 
ther preparation; as an instance, at the last commence- 
ment, the following pupils passing direct from our 
school, graduated from this institution, namely : Misses 
Alice Stickney, Florence E. Mitchell, Hattie M. Hover, 
Tillie Reul, and Mr. W. A. Hover. 

The district contains about five hundred and fifty 
pupils of school age, and upwards of four hundred were 
39 



010 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 

in attendance the past year. Number of teachers em- 
ployed, eight; cost of instruction, about $3,000 annu- 
ally. Value of -school building and site is over §10,000. 
The site contains eight lots, and is one of the prettiest 
locations for the purpose to be found. Good sidewalks 
are provided not only about the building and across the 
grounds, but reach to nearly all portions of the village, 
except on the higher grounds where they are not so 
much needed. 

The present officers of the district are, Jonathan 
Jones, J. C. Cowdery and H. Z. Moulton, the latter hav- 
ing served in the capacity of clerk without interruption 
since 1862. 

The business and other interests, not previously men- 
tioned, are represented by J. C. Cowdery & Son, bank- 
ers; W. U. Hover, J. Murrish & Sons, C. M. Howe, 
L. A. Lincoln, J. A. Schmitz, Charles Butz, W. W. 
Whalon, and S. V. Wyckoff and Co., general dealers; 
Smith & Moulton, general hardware; J. Jones and 
Smith & Campbell, druggists; Whitney & Clark, boots 
and shoes; J. W. Robson, books and stationery, fruits 
and confectionery; C. A. Pierson and Hiram Lyford, 
groceries; L. C. Oulmann, butter and eggs; George 
Elliott, furniture and paper hangings; Fred Reinow, fur- 
niture and coffins: Fred. W. Giese and Otto Giese, jew- 
elers; D. W. Bronson & Son and Richard Black, lumber 
dealers; L. A. Lincoln. A. Lange and J. T. Vaught, grain 
buyers; Ed. Pratt and Maj. A. B. Piatt, agricultural 
implements; Harrop & Cork, tailors; Fred. Heydecke and 
John Denu, harnesses; C. E. Whelan, blacksmith and 
wagons; A. Preston & Sons, blacksmith and cultivators; 
John Askew, blacksmith and plows; A. P. Peck and 
Simeon Jones, shoemakers; Woolrich & Dame, meat 
market; Mrs. Charles Peters, market and confectionery; 
Mrs. John Schuesler, photographs; Mrs. S. A. Berry, 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 611 

Mrs. E. H. Hart, Mrs. C. M. Howe, and Miss M. E. Kerr, 
millinery and dress making; Edward Huggins, restau- 
rant; N. Kirch, bakery; Sutcliffe Bros., cigars; Tinker 
& Schlewch, brewers; S. F. Buck, barber; P. B. Learnard, 
repairing watches; J. A. J. Shower, undertaker; Isaac 
Thompson and Lawrence Wolf, coopers; J. F. Carlisle 
and H. G. Brunleib, liveries; T. T. Huntington and 
John Cammack, draymen: Thos. W. Wilson, builder; 
W. W. Whitney, millwright; L. W. Needham, Robert 
Sutcliffe, E. H. Haseltine, J. H. Richards and Ferd. 
Hader, carpenters; C. F. Moulton, Adam Grerner and M. 
Morrow, masons; Wm. Finlayson and A. N. Seymour 
are the proprietors of the extensive nurseries. The 
medical fraternity are represented by Wm. H. Grleason, 
T. F. Stair, C. A. Lyman and T. S. North; dentistry by 
J. Cr. Mawney; insurance by H. Z. Moulton. 

The place is supplied with excellent hotels, all of 
which are well kept, and sufficiently large and roomy 
for the accommodation of the traveling public, who may 
feel assured of receiving the utmost attention from the 
genial proprietors. The " Carlisle House, 1 ' kept by 
James Carlisle, is the largest; next in size and preten- 
sions is the " Freeman House," kept by Theo. Freeman, 
while the " Commercial Hotel " is under the charge of 
John Westhauser, proprietor. Mr. N. Kirch has recent- 
ly erected large and commodious buildings, and, in con- 
nection with other business, proposes to provide for the 
entertainment of the traveling public. 

The Weekly Sickle, a newspaper published by D. W. 
Bronson & Son, with S. E. Bronson as editor, is among 
the important enterprises of the place, and is of great 
value and convenience to the citizens and business men. 
The first issue was dated March 9, 1874, and the circu- 
lation has increased gradually until it now numbers five 
hundred subscribers. 



612 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 

The village of Mazomanie is what may be termed a 
" railroad town," as it was directly through its influence 
that the place was first started, and through its business 
employment is given to a great number of persons. The 
construction train of the western division of the railway 
from Milwauke to Prairie du Chien makes its headquar- 
ters here. The train is under the charge of E. J. Whit- 
ney, conductor, with Frank Robinson as engineer, Mr. R. 
having held this position since 1865. This station ranks 
the fifth on the line (Pra. du C. division) as to amount of 
business. There is. paid out to its different employees 
not less than 8'2,000 monthly, giving direct support to 
about fifty families, and indirectly adding largely to the 
general business interests of the town. 

The Fire Department of Mazomanie is well deserving 
of attention in this sketch. It has been organized and 
worked up under exceeding difficulties, and several 3 r ears 
have elapsed since its first conception, but through the 
persistent efforts of a few of her citizens — among whom 
may with propriety be mentioned the names of C. J. 
Trager, T. W. Wilson and R. Black — and the liberali- 
ty of the business men of the place, it has now a well 
organized fire company, with an " A 1 " hand power en- 
gine, hose cart and hook and ladder outfit, including 
truck, ladders, buckets, etc., costing upwards of twelve 
hundred dollars. The present officers are, C. J. Trager, 
foreman; J. A. J. Shower, first assistant, andT. T.Hun- 
tington, second assistant. 

The population of the village is now about twelve 
hundred, mostly of American and English extraction. 
Of the foreign element, the German largely predomi- 
nates, although the " Emerald Isle " furnishes a large 
representation. And while it is but slowly increasing 
in wealth and population, there seems to be an air of 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 613 

permanency about the village and its improvements, 
that surely denotes a prosperous future. 

The resources of the place are much the same as con- 
tribute to the support of nearly all of our western towns, 
being principally from grain growing districts around, 
making this a common center, although the peculiar 
adaptation of the surrounding country to grazing pur- 
poses will, at no distant future, make of it one of the 
most important dairying districts in the southern por- 
tion of the state. Even now it is estimated that more 
butter and eggs are shipped from this station than any 
other 011 the road west of Milwaukee. 

Location" and Scenery. — A sketch of Mazomanie 
would be incomplete that did not refer to its advantages 
as a place of residence, for such as desire a more quiet 
and retired life than the city affords, and yet enjoy most 
of its conveniences. The village is pleasantly located 
on both sides of Black Earth creek, where it opens out 
into the valley of the Wisconsin. South of the rail- 
road, which passes through the place, a little south of 
the center, is a sharp rise of ground for a few rods, 
where we find a large plateau, where are many beautiful 
locations for residences not yet occupied. Still south 
of this, and adjoining the village, is a range of very 
pretty bluffs, skirted with forests of oak, making a fine 
background, and giving to the sceneiy a very pictur- 
esque appearance. 

A magnificent view of the place and of the surround- 
ing country may be had from the " school section " bluff 
on the southeast, which rises abruptly to the height of 
about three hundred feet above the level of the Wiscon- 
sin river. From this elevation the observer may look 
down upon the village, nestled among the maples and 
elms, with which every street is lined, and which have 



614 DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 

become the pride of its citizens. Glancing to the north- 
ward, he will see the Wisconsin skirting the bluffs on 
the opposite side, many of which her currents have 
hewn squarely down to the waters edge; towards the 
northeast, he sees in the distance, across an alternating 
landscape of forest and field, the prairies of Sauk county, 
dotted here and there with farm-houses, and extending 
back to the Baraboo bluffs. On the east and southeast, 
Black Earth creek and her tributaries may be seen wind- 
ing their serpentine courses through pleasant vallej's and 
rich meadows, with the constantly varying scenery of 
forest, bluff, and cultivated field. On the south, at a 
distance of twelve miles, he distinctly sees the lofty 
summits of the Blue Mounds, towering like sentinels 
above the intervening elevations of land, while turning 
to the westward, the view opens upon a magnificent per- 
spective of the broad valley of the Wisconsin, which 
may be seen for a distance of forty miles, an almost un- 
broken landscape of field and meadow, diversified with 
constantly receding patches of forest, while at intervals 
in the distance the abrupt faces of the bluffs upon either 
side of the river seem to approach each other, until at 
nearly the utmost range of vision they appear to meet, 
thus closing up the further view of the course of this 
magnificent river, on its way, through narrow defiles 
and shifting sands, to join the Father of Waters on his 
course to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Although this village is not noted for its magnificent 
edifices, yet she has many pretty residences, public build- 
ings, and places of business, no less than thirty of which 
are substantial, first-class brick and stone buildings. It 
has been the pride of her citizens to not only supply the 
lack of a natural growth of forest trees, by planting out 
large quantities of the rapidly growing maple and elm 



DANE COUNTY TOWNS MAZOMANIE. 615 

on the streets, and with various kinds of evergreens and 
deciduous trees of different species, in private yards and 
grounds, but in beautifying them with flowers and 
shrubs, and adorning their dwellings with choice pic- 
tures and rare curiosities, as well as in providing for the 
literary and musical culture and entertainment of the 
household. 

Society. — A noticeable feature in the social elements 
of which Mazomanie is composed is, that while it boasts 
of as good society as is furnished by any town of its size 
and pretensions, there is but little inclination to divide 
into "sets," as is too often the case, but with remarka- 
ble unanimity, her citizens are disposed to treat each 
other with the consideration to which they are entitled, 
Avithout regard to "worldly wealth or honors/' In soci- 
eties and other organizations, a certain degree of exclu- 
siveness is necessarily required. 

In summing up the many desirable features possessed 
by Mazomanie, we must not overlook that of health, 
which is paramount to all other considerations in se- 
lecting a place for permanent location. It has long 
been known as one of the most healthful places in the 
country, as has often been remarked by those who have 
been acquainted with it for many years. Adding to this 
its beauty of location, its business capacities and re- 
sources, its convenience to leading places of the north- 
west, such as Milwaukee, Chicago, the capital of the 
state, etc, ready access to all points in Iowa and Min- 
nesota, its society, churches and schools, make it one of 
the most desirable places of residence to be found among 
the smaller towns of the state. 



TOWNS ADJACENT. 



EYANSVILLE, EOCK CO. 

BY D. JOHNSON, LEVI LEONARD AND JACOB WEST, Esq. 

The township of Union, of which the village of 
Evansville is at the present time the principal and 
leading market town, was first settled in the fall of 
1839. The first settlers were Ohas. McMillan, Sam- 
uel Lewis, Stephen Jones, Erastus Quivey, John 
Khinehart and Boyd Phelps. In the spring of 1840, 
there was a large immigration from the east and south 
to this part of the state, and among those making 
their homes in this town were Rev. John Griffith, 
Hiram Griffith, John A. Griffith, Ira Jones, Jacob 
"West, John T. Baker, J. W. Haseltine, Levi Leonard, 
David Johnson, Daniel Johnson, John Cook, John 
Adams, "Washington Higday and John Sale, and the 
population was further increased by a large immi- 
gration in the fall of the same year. 

The first school house in the settlement was built 
in 1841, about a mile and a half west of the present 
site of Evansville, and the first teacher, Miss Mary 
Jane True. The next was built at or near the now 
village of Union, between Janesville and Madison, 
where the first post office was established. The third 



618 TOWNS ADJACENT — EVANSVILLE. 

school house in the town was built on the present site 
of Evansville, and was built of logs, and used both as 
church and school house, and the first teacher our now 
worthy citizen, Levi Leonard. The first settler on the 
land now embraced in the village plat was Amos 
Kirkpatriek, in 1842. About the same time Wilbur 
Potter settled here and built a chair factory, and then 
Henry and Lewis Spencer, whose residence is still 
here, they having built the first frame dwellings in the 
town. In the summer of 1S45, J. M. Evans, from 
Laporte, Indiana, settled here and commenced the 
practice of medicine. 

Up to 1848, the principal centers of business for 
the whole country between Janesville and Madison 
w 7 ere at the village of Union, a post town on the terri- 
torial road three miles north of the present site of 
Evansville, or Cooksville, on the Badfish creek, four 
miles northeast of Union, and in that year William 
"Winston and C. R. Bent built and filled the first store 
in the place, which up to this date had neither name 
nor post office, the citizens having to go to Union for 
their mail. Upon the establishing of a j>ost office in 
1849, the name of Evansville was chosen. In 1855, the 
ground was surveyed and platted, and the name of the 
post office was selected as the future name of the vil- 
lage, from which time to the present the growth of 
the place has been steady and healthy. In 1863, the 
Beloit and Madison railroad was completed, which 
gave the place a new impetus, and in 1865, Evansville 
became a chartered village, officered by a president 



TOWNS ADJACENT EVAXSVILLE. 619 

and board of trustees, clerk and treasurer, and under 
the healthy working of our charter and good manage- 
ment of its officers, our streets have been improved, 
sidewalks made and repaired, shade trees planted, until 
we now have as handsome and thrifty a village as there 
is in the west, and what with its water and steam 
power in the hands of our enterprising business men, 
bids fair for a prosperous future. 

To the person seeking a pleasant home, or as a place 
of summer resort, there is no place in the west that 
offers better inducements than Evansville. Society 
is of the best, manifesting refinement, intelligence and 
good taste; not only in the well kept and nicely 
graded streets, good sidewalks, and the beautiful gar- 
dens and pleasant homes, with the absence of any 
saloons for the sale of intoxicating drinks, but with 
the prevailing influences of Christian privileges and 
blessings, is every thing that goes to make a home 
pleasant and desirable. The village is located in one 
of the best farming and grazing sections of Wiscon- 
sin, and is skirted on the north by a beautiful grove 
of oak timber, while in every other direction farms 
and farm houses abound in beautifying effect. The 
country, when in its natural state, was about one-half 
timber and the rest prairie; but since the stumps 
have been removed on the timber farms, and artificial 
groves planted on the prairie, a person unacquainted 
with the locality in former times would hardly dis- 
tinguish the difference; with good roads, and pleasant 
drives in every direction, the seeker after pleasure or 



620 TOWNS AD.J A.CEX T E VANSVILLE. 

pleasant homes can find no better place than Evans- 
ville. 

In the first settlement of this town, the religious 
and moral tone of the people had much to do in the 
forming and regulating society, and in after years, 
through this influence, the sale of intoxicating drinks 
publicly, has always been prohibited; so that up to 
the present time, no license has ever been granted to 
a liquor saloon. The first church was organized in 
the summer of 1840 by the Episcopal Methodists, with 
a membership of twenty-seven ; and the first church 
edifice was erected by them in 1846-47, being a plain 
but comfortable frame building. In the year 1866, 
the old church was sold to give place for a business 
block, and a new and more commodious one (built of 
white brick) was erected. The membership now 
numbers about 178, and the present pastor is the Rev. 
J. D. Cole. 

The next church organization was the Freewill 
Baptist, in 1854, with a membership of 30, and the 
same year they erected a very neat frame church edi- 
fice, and furnished it with the first church bell. They 
have increased until they now number about 67 mem- 
bers. Their present pastor is the Rev. B. F. Mc- 
Kenney. 

The next church was organized by the Congrega- 
tionalists in the same year, 1854, with a member- 
ship of eleven, and in 1857 they erected a very neat 
red brick church edifice. Their numbers have in- 
creased, so that they have now a membership of sev 



TOWNS ADJACENT EVANSVILLE. 621 

enty-five. The Tlev. James W. Harris is their present 
pastor. . 

The regular Baptists next organized a church in 1856, 
with thirty-four members, and reorganized in 1867, 
and in this rear they erected a very commodious 
white brick church edifice, and furnished it with a 
bell. Their numbers have increased to seventy-one. 
The Tier. C. N. Lathrop is their present pastor. 

The Episcopalians next organized a society in 1869, 
with a membership of twenty-five, and in 1870, they 
erected a very neat frame edifice, and furnished it with 
the best bell in the place. Their numbers have in- 
creased to forty-six members, and their present rector 
is the Rev. Henry Green. 

The early settlers were not unmindful of the neces- 
sity of providing for the education of their children, 
knowing well that the prosperity of our country and 
its civil liberties depended on the education of the 
rising generation. Our common schools under the 
township organization were in a flourishing condition, 
but the rapid growth of our village demanded higher 
branches of education; consequently an organization 
was formed for the purpose of erecting a seminary of 
learning, August 10, 1855, and a charter was obtained 
the winter following; at the same time a select or 
high school was commenced in the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church building, it being the most suitable place 
for a high school, under the supervision of R. O. Kel- 
logg, and was continued under the supervision of 
competent teachers till the spring of 1859, when D. 



622 TOWNS ADJACENT EVANSVILLE. 

Y. Kilgore opened a school in the seminary building, 
and continued prosperously under the patronage of 
the different Christian denominations until the spring 
of 1874. In 1S6S-9 the citizens of Evansville, in ac- 
cordance with the state laws, organized and built a 
large graded school building, and opened under the 
supervision of S. S. Gard. Of the many graduates 
from the Evansville Seminary, quite a number have 
arisen to eminence and distinction, among which we 
might mention the Rev. W. H. Spencer, now of 
Haverhill, Mass.; Rev. Mr. Marshall, now a mis- 
sionarv at the East Indies; J. ~\Y. Sale, now district 
attorney of Rock county; B. W. Jones, ex-disfcrict 
attorney of Dane county; L. 13. Sale, attorney, Green 
Bay; Hon. R. E. Pettigrew, Sioux Falls, Dakota; 
Geo. R. Mitchell, M. D., Richland Center; D. B. 
Bennett, M. D., Colorado. The graded school, as 
now changed to a high school, seemed to supersede 
the necessity of the seminary, as has been the case 
with many of the institutions of this kind, it only be- 
ing a step from this to the State University. The 
high school department is now under the supervision 
of A. R. Sprague, principal, with an able assistant, 
and also four graded departments with an able corps 
of teachers, which are now in a very prosperous and 
flourishing condition. 

Among the business enterprises of the place, the 
foundry and machine shop of A. S. Baker & Co. de- 
serves special mention. The company started in 
business in April, 1873; commencing at first in a 



TOWNS ADJACENT EVANSVILLE. 623 

small way, but procuring the best of machinery, their 
busines has been steadily on the increase until at the 
present time they are doing a flourishing business, 
employing ten or twelve men, and have a reputation 
of doing first class work, having in the past year 
manufactured 1,800 iron pumps, 100 windmills, be- 
sides doing a large amount of jobbing work and re- 
pairing. Also the manufactory of Lehman Brothers, 
wholesale and retail manufacturers and dealers in 
household furniture, commenced business in August, 
1870; they too, commencing small and enlarging as 
the wants of the trade demanded, until they have 
built up a business that is an honor to the place, and 
doing a business at the present time amounting to 
over twenty thousand dollars a year. Both the above 
mentioned factories use steam for power. 

The First National Bank of Evansville was estab- 
lished in November, 1874, and continued as such till 
January, 1875 ; it then changed to the state system, 
under the name of the Bank, of Evansville, with a 
paid up capital of $25,000, and the stock is now 
owned by L. T. Pullen and J. C. Sharp, who are its 
officers; and the average deposits amount to about 
$50,000, which shows the prosperity of the business 
men here, as well as the confidence they have in the 
bank. In the dry goods and grocery department are 
five well filled stores. The firm of N. Winston & 
Sons commenced business in 1855, under the firm 
name of J. Winston & Sons; although there have been 
some changes, the present senior partner has been a 



624 TOWNS ADJACENT EVANSVILLE. 

continuous member during the whole time, and is 
now doing a large and profitable business. Smith & 
Eager commenced business in the building now occu- 
pied by them, in 1868, and have had an extensive 
trade, and at present are classed among our successful 
business men. Winston & Woodbury are successors 
of J. Winston & Son, established in 1863. Some 
changes have been made, but the present R. Winston 
has been a continuous member of the firm from the 
start; it is an old reliable house. Evansville Mer- 
cantile Association do a dry goods, groceries and gen- 
eral mercantile business; said association was estab- 
lished in 1874, under the auspices of the Patrons of 
Husbandry. The association has the past year built a 
large and commodious store, with a fine hall above 
for the use of the Evansville Grange. They are hav- 
ing an extensive trade, and must be doing a satis- 
factory business; their present agent and business 
manager is T. C. Richardson. Pullen & Wilder 
commenced business in 1874; although they are both 
young men, they are not young in business, having 
both been raised to handle the tape; they have already 
built up a large and prosperous trade, and, in the end, 
must win. Our business in the groceries and con- 
fectionery goods are represented by three well stocked 
stores. Ransom Griffin commenced business in 1871; 
Richardson Brothers commenced in 1874, and Bevier 
& Hall in 1876 ; all doing a good business in their line. 
There are two well filled drug stores in the place 
where can always be found drugs, paints, oils, window 



TOWNS ADJACENT — EVANSVILLE. 625 

glass, and everything usually found in first-class drug 
stores. The old pioneer drug store is run by Doctors 
Dewitt Griswold and J. M. Evans — the other by ('. 
M. Smith, M. I). The hardware trade of the place is 
now controlled by Snashall & Mygatt, an enterprising 
firm ; they carry a large stock of the best goods. F. A. 
Baker, practical tinner, keeps a large stock of tinware 
on sale. Two clothing stores, E. Robinson, established 
in 1870, and Spencer & Pullen, in 1876; both doing 
a o-ood business. The retail trade of boots and shoes 
is in the hands of Geo. E. Shaw and C. K. Lanclon, 
two well filled stores. Two boot and shoe shops, one 
run by Plaisted & Bargewell, the other by Chas. Clif- 
ford. Three milliners' stores, one by Mrs. Gunn, one 
by Mrs. Morrow, and the other by Misses Gilman & 
Spencer. Evan svi lie has long been noted for its har- 
ness manufacture, and there are at the present time 
four harness shops; E. W. Stearns, established in 1855, 
E. Blakeley in IS'!!. EL Monshau in 1870, and George 
Taggart in 1877. In each and all can be found the 
goods usually kept in first-class harness shops. Blake- 
ley and Stearns carry on carriage trimming in connec- 
tion with their business. In butchers' meats we are 
bountifully supplied; three first-class markets — 
Campbell & Springer, established in 1871, Joslin & 
Budlong in 1875, and Hay ward Brother in 1876. We 
have two well stocked lumber yards — one by Fifield 
& Co. (K. F. Randolph, agent), established in 1864, 
the other by R, Winston & Co., 1S73 — both doing- a 
good business. Have an extensive country, as well as 
40 



626 



T< >WNS ADJACENT EVANSVILLE. 



village trade. Four wagon and carriage shops — John 
II. Winston, established in 1861; John Evans, 1870; 
Allen & Holman, 1876, and Baker & Garfield, 1876. 
Three blacksmith shops — Baker & Garfield, Allen & 
Holman, and Clifford & Gratasinger. Baker A: (Tar- 
field also carry on the manufacture of plows, in connec- 
tion with their other business. There is one well filled 
•jewelery store, with a large stock for the size of the 
place, owned and run by C. B. Morse, practical work- 
man. The best goods for sale, and the best work done. 

The mechanics and artisans of the place are second 
to no other. Our list of carpenters and joiners com- 
prises the well known names of 1ST. Libby, Win. Libby, 
Daniel Doolittle, Wm. H. Morgan, L. Walker, A. 
Snashall, A. Hoskins and William Wilcox. Masons 
and plasterers, D. B. Huckins, T. F. Shurrum and 
James Brown. House and carriage painters, M. E. 
Hanover, Chas. Pows and Geo Backenstose. 

The best index to the intelligence of any people can 
be found at the post office, and printing office. As 
the room allotted will not admit of a detailed state- 
ment of the business of our office, we will mention 
the business for one quarter, ending December 31, 
1876, of the Evansville post office: 

Received for money orders and fees on same .$4,710 38 

Received for stamps and envelops 521 00 

Received for box rents 45 20 

$5,276 f.7 
Paid money orders drawn on this office 3,284 99 

Total for the quarter $8, 561 66 

The Evansville Review, a weekly newspaper, was 



TOWNS ADJACENT EVANSVILLE. 627 

established here in 1866, by I. A. Hoxie, its present 
owner and editor. For ten long years it has covered 
up our faults, exalted our virtues, received our abuse, 
and not unfrequently abused us in return, and yet it 
still lives. 

The morals of the place can be judged by the large 
number of ministers, and but one lawyer. Of min- 
isters, we have Reverends E. Robinson, 0. H. Wilder, 
C. N. Lathrop, J. W. Harris, B. F. McKinney, Henry 
Green and J. D. Cole. The law has been expounded 
to us for the last twenty-two years by the Hon. D. L. 
Mills, who pleads our causes, makes our conveyances, 
and, in addition, does a large amount of insurance 
business, he having always rej)resented some of the 
best companies in the United States. Of physicians, 
we have Doctors J. M. Evans, M. C. Smith, E. W. 
Beebe, and A. IT. Robinson, dentist and surgeon. 
Among the institutions that should have been men- 
tioned, but was almost forgotten, is that of West & 
Potter, dealers in chromos, engravings, stereoscopic 
views, cords, tassels, picture frames, school books, sta- 
tionery, and news depot, rooms at the post office. 

Strangers stopping here can find two good hotels, 
and take their choice. The Spencer House is located 
in the center of the business portion of town, and is 
kept by Col. Beebe. The Evansville House, kept by 
Daniel "Wadsworth", near the depot. Both no license 
houses, as there never has been a license to sell intox- 
icating drinks granted, since the first organization of 
the town, and if the morals of its inhabitants can be 
kept up to the present standard, there never will be. 



628 TOWNS ADJACENT LAKE K0SHK0N0NG. 



LAKE KOSHKONONG. 

BY AN OLD SETTLER. 

Lake Ivoshkonong- is principally situated in Jeffer- 
son county, Wisconsin, but its southwest end touches 
Dane county, and its southern part, Rock county. 
Its main length is about nine miles, in the direction of 
northeast and southwest; its broadest part about four 
miles. Its shape is somewhat irregular, and it has 
its bays and promontories, and which are known as 
Buffalo and Bingham's bays, and Lee's, Taylor's and 
Bingham's "points." Rock river enters the lake at 
the northeast end, at Blackhawk Island, and leaves it 
at the southwest end, at Newville. On the northwest 
side, Koshkonong creek and Alpeter's creek, and on 
the southeast side, Otter creek, add to the volume of 
its water, as also do innumerable springs all around 
and in many places even in the lake, which is rather 
a shallow sheet of water, with mostly muddy bottom. 

What is called " Blackhawk Island " is an island 
only at high water, and is formed by having the Rock 
river on the east, and the lake on the south and west 
side, being connected with the main land only by a 
narrow strip of low land on the north. 

The land surrounding the lake consists to a great 
extent of low and very extensive marshes, on which 
thousand of tons of hay are annually cut; but lime- 
stone bluffs exist in many places all around the lake, 
viz.: at C. Lee's, R. Bingham's, Taylor's point, ]STew- 
ville, E. Bingham's, and the place of Mr. Langhoff. 

The lake, with its, in many places, marshy shores 
and hundreds of acres of wild rice, and the grass-like 



TOWNS ADJACENT — LAKE KOSHKONONO. 629 

plant, known to botanists as Vallisneria spiralis, 
growing in it in the greatest abundance, used to be a 
great favorite place for ducks, and especially the fur- 
famed Canvassback {Aythya vallisneria), which, with 
the Bedhead, is particularly fond of the Vallisneria 
spiralis. Geese, cormorants and white pelicans were 
also very numerous, and fifty to one hundred of those 
latter birds could be seen at one time in the latter 
part of April or first of May. 

In the marshes and on the shores were a great 
variety of waders, viz.: the great blue heron, the 
large white heron, the snowy heron, the night heron, 
and the least heron, six species of the plover family 
and Wilson's Phalarope, the most beautiful of all our 
waders, was in abundance. Of the snipe family, 
twenty species, besides curlews and godwits. Three 
species of rails, and gallinules and coats, very plenty. 
But owing to a continued sporting kept up every 
spring and fall for years, the birds have either greatly 
diminished in number or found other places where 
they are less disturbed, as now-a-days but few visit 
the lake compared with what they did only ten years 
ago. Ducks, even such as shelldrakes, whistlers and 
butterballs, bring something in the markets of the 
large cities, and hence they must be killed and sold 
for the little they bring. Coots are yet numerous, 
though not so numerous as formerly; but though 
they don't sell as well as shelldrakes and butterballs, 
yet, if nothing else can be had, the fun of shooting 
them is all the same. 

As for the fish in the lake, the time is past when 
twenty-eight to thirty-five pound pickerels can be 
found, or twenty-five pound catfish. Bullheads and 



630 



TOWNS ADJACENT LAKE KOSHKONONG. 



perch, sunfish, garpikes and dogfish are common yet; 
but the pike, pickerel, bass, redhorse, sucker and cat- 
fish are not near as plentiful as formerly. Perhaps 
the dams across the Rock river, below the lake, are 
too powerful hindrances for the fish of the Mississippi 
river to go up to our waters to spawn; if so, we are 
effectually prevented from ever having shad success- 
fully planted in this part of Rock river. 

Having been more interested in the ornithology 
and botany of the lake and its vicinity than in the 
archaeology, I am not able to j>'ive such information in 
regard to the latter as I should wish, and will only 
mention a few facts that have come under my observa- 
tion, mostly on the west side of the lake, where I have 
lived nearly 34 years, facts proving that this lake and 
vicinity have been a great resort of the Indians. 

On the land of Mr. R. Bingham are patches of 
ground where yet can be seen what is supposed to be 
cornhills worked by the Indians. While plowing or 
hoeing, Indian arrows, stone implements and pieces 
of pottery are frequently found; these relics are es- 
pecially numerous on the farms of Mr. R. Bingham 
and Mr. Charles Lee, who has an extensive and in- 
teresting collection, picked up on his farms. 

Indian mounds of different sizes and shapes were 
numerous on the west side of the lake, but many of 
them are now leveled by the plows. Of the large 
mound " at the foot of the lake" lately opened and 
investigated, and where interesting relics were found, 
I can say nothing, as I have never visited the place. 
At Busseyville, near the creek, there used to grow a 
very large oak which, thirty-four years ago, and at 
that time considered old, had a very plain and good 



TOWNS ADJACENT — LAKE KOSIIEONONG. 631 

figure of a mud turtle cut on the side, towards the 
creek, and on the hill north of it, were several mounds, 
some of which had the shape of mud turtles. These 
mounds are now leveled, and the land cultivated. 

About thirty years ago, while botanizing near the 
lake, I found tobacco (nicotiana rustica li/i) growing 
in a wild state among the grass on Mr. It. Bingham's 
land, and I understood that tobacco was found grow- 
ing even on the other side of the lake at about the 
same time. This was at a time when the first settlers 
never had heard of raising tobacco in the state. Since 
which there is scarcely a farmer for miles around that 
is not engaged in raising tobacco. 

In 1844r, there was a steamboat going through the 
lake, said to have come up from St. Louis. The new 
settlers hailed this occurrence with great pleasure and 
hopes, expecting to have a communication by water 
opened with the cities on the Mississippi river, and 
bavins: no railroad nearer than Buffalo, IN". Y., and 
sixty to seventy miles to haul their grain to Milwau- 
kee, it is no wonder that they considered the coming 
up of this steamboat as a Godsend. The idea never 
occurred to them that this big Rock river, on which 
with their own eyes they had seen a steamboat from 
St. Louis, ever could be, by any authority, pronounced 
an unnavio-able stream, and dams allowed to be built 
across it. 

There is, after all, a steamboat on the lake now, 
built and moored at Taylor's point, where there is also 
a good hotel for visitors, but this boat will probably 
have to confine its trips between Taylor's point, Fort 
Atkinson and Newville, or to making excursions 
around the lake. 



632 TOWNS ADJACENT BROOKLYN. 



BROOKLYN. 

BY J. W. HASELTINE, Esq. 

The town of Brooklyn is situated ill the northeast 
corner of Green county, and borders on the towns of 
Rutland and Oregon in Dane county. In the northeast 
part of the town there is some very good land, partly 
of burr oak opening and good prairie, with some fine 
groves of timber, while on the east side of the town 
there are a few sections of good prairie land. The bal- 
ance of the town is oak openings, much of it quite high 
and rolling, and not of the best quality. 

The first land bought for actual settlement was by the 
writer, on the 26th day of December, 1839, on the north 
half of section three, and which he still occupies. The 
first house in the town was built by W. W. McLaughlin 
in the fall of 1812, on the south half of section three, 
and who occupied the same farm up to the time of his 
death, April 2, 1877. The names of the early settlers of 
the town are J. W. Haseltine, W. W. McLaughlin, 
Charles Sutherland, Elder John Sawin and his three 
sons, Alvin, Ethan and Lorenzo, Stephen Smith and 
three sons, Jonathan, Charles and Emery, Leonard and 
Ezra Doolittle, Amos D. and William Kirpatrick, Syl- 
vester Gray, C. D. AY. and Arab Leonard, Jeremiah 
Anderson and son Amos (the father now occupying the 
{'arm first selected, aged eighty-two), Nelson J. and 
Franklin Patterson, William B. Patterson, William R, 
Smith, Sr., and William R. Smith, Jr., and John Pace. 
Henry Montgomery and his three sons, Cyrus A., Tracy 
and John, were early settlers in the town. Cyrus A. 



TOWNS ADJACENT — BROOKLYN. 633 

and John still reside here. The father died in 1846, 
and was the first death in the town. 

Of the above list of persons, those who have died are 
W. W. McLaughlin, John Sawin, Stephen Smith, Win. 
Kirkpatrick, Sylvester Gray, Amos Anderson, Wm. R. 
Smith, Sr., and John Pace. Others have moved away, 
so that few of the very early settlers remain. 

Alonzo Melvin with a large family settled on a farm 
on section one, about the year 1850. Five sons of the 
family enlisted in the army of the late war of the re- 
bellion, and suffered terribly by disease and death. 
Shepard and Taylor died suddenly of disease contracted 
while in the army. Fordice R. was shot through the 
wrists and disabled for life. He holds the office of 
treasurer of Green county, and has done so for three 
terms or six years, ending January 1, 1877, and as such 
has proved himself an honest and capable officer. Oli- 
ver was also brought home from the army terribly dis- 
eased, but has finally recovered and is now a resident of 
the town. Austin A. was the only one of the five Avho 
came back unharmed. Alonzo, the father, died two 
years since, full of years, honored and respected by all 
who knew him, one of nature's noble, honest men. 

The town was organized and the first town meeting 
held in the house of Nelson J. Patterson, on the 7th day 
of April, 1819, the writer acting as clerk and making 
the first election returns from the town to Monroe, the 
county seat. The following officers were elected : Chair- 
man of fin- Town Board — Amos D. Kirkpatrick. Toicn 
Clerk — 0. P. Stowell. Assessor—- W. W. McLaughlin. 
Treasurer — Martin Flood. Superintendent of Schools — 
G. G. Godfrey. 

Names that have been prominent among the town 
officers are W. W. McLaughlin, who was chairman of 
the town board many years, and assessed the town 



634: TOWNS ADJACENT BROOKLYN. 

twelve or thirteen times, and lias twice been a meinbei 
of the legislature. Amos D. Kirkpatrick was chairman 
several years, also a member of the legislature once 01 
twice. C. D. VV. Leonard has also beeu chairman many 
times, and twice a member of the legislature from the 
north assembly district in Green county. Town clerks 
have been, 0. P. Stowell, James McCoy, for eleven "suc- 
cessive years, J. W. Haseltine, Ed. Netherwoocl, M. F. 
Ross, and others. 

The town is well provided with school houses and has 
two Methodist churches, one in Attica and one in Brook- 
lyn. At an early clay the village of Attica was laid out 
on Sugar river, in the southwest corner of the town, and 
at one time contained a flouring and saw mill, a carding 
machine, a fulling and cloth dressing machine, and also 
distillery. The village is situated on Sugar river, and 
has an excellent water power, but now has only a good 
flouring mill, owned by Joseph Bartlett. 

The village of Brooklyn is situated in the northeast 
corner of the town, on the railroad, midway between 
Evansville and Oregon, six miles from either. It con- 
tains four stores, a cheese factory, a good lumber yard, 
a livery stable, two hotels, a postoffice, two blacksmith 
shops, two harness shops, and does a large produce and 
stock business, conducted by E. J. Andrew & Sons. 

B. S. Axtell is the oldest merchant and is postmas- 
ter. He commenced business here soon after the rail- 
road was built, and does a safe business. L. J. Wilder 
keeps a good store and is an excellent business man. 
The Marvin brothers manage the hardware, and honest 
Charles S. Gray runs the " Grange Store." E. J. An- 
drew & Sons have an elevator with large storage ca- 
pacity, and conduct a good business in produce and 
stock. They maintain an excellent market, and are 
ever ready to deal honorably with their customers. 



TOWNS ADJACENT BROOKLYN. 635 

Tliey have done much to make Brooklyn a good market 
for a large section of country. Lovejoy & Richards sell 
the lumber. Frank Lane does a lively livery business. 
Conradson, in wood and iron is " a workman that need 
not be ashamed." Melvins & Blair own the cheese fac- 
tory, and have a reputation for making good cheese. 
J. A. Leonard, blacksmith; W. A. Morrow, harness 
maker; J. R. Richards, harness maker; E. H. Graves, 
railroad agent; E. D. King, confectionery and restau- 
rant; D. H. Glidden, hotel; Miss Mattie Wallace and 
Mrs. Addie Murray, milliners. 

Brooklyn is gradually improving, a few buildings go- 
ing up every year, and is a great convenience and help 
to this section of the country. 



03(5 TOWNS ADJACENT — LODI. 



LODI. 

BY Hon. JOHN T. CLARK. 

Location. — The town joins the town of Dane, in 
Dane county, on the north, and is situated in the south- 
west part of Columbia county. It is formed of township 
No. 10 north, of range 8 east, according to government 
survey, except sections 0, 7, 18, 19, 30 and 31, which 
form the west tier of sections of said township, and be- 
long to the town of West Point. The territory of which 
the town is formed was at first a part of Brown county, 
then of Portage county, and in 1816, when Columbia 
county was organized, it was made a part of the last 
named county. The town of Lodi was organized in 1319, 
previous to which time the territory described as town 
10, ranges 7, 8 and the west half of range 9, consti- 
tuted, for voting purposes, a precinct called " Pleasant 
Valley precinct." As at first organized, the town em- 
braced all the territory belonging to said precinct. The 
name of the town was suggested by Judge Palmer. 

In the year 1850, the town of West Point was taken 
from the western part of said territory, embracing all of 
township 10, range 7 (the same being made fractional 
by the course of the Wisconsin river), also the west tier 
and a half of sections in township 10, range 8. 

In the year 1855, the town of Arlington was formed 
on the east of Lodi, taking therefrom the west half of 
town 10, range 9, except the west tier of sections in said 
west half, which west tier of sections remained a part of 
Lodi, until the year 1871, when the county board of su- 
pervisors of Columbia county, to whom the matter had 



TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 637 

been committed by an act of the legislature, attached 
the same to the town of Arlington. 

At the time of the organization of Arlington, the half 
tipj - of sections on the west, which had been made a part 
of West Point, was returned to Lodi. 

Soil. — The soil is mostly what is called " openings;" 
a small part is prairie. The surface is quite undulating, 
sometimes rising into bluffs of considerable height. The 
soil is fertile, especially along the streams, except in the 
northern and northeastern parts, where it degenerates 
into sand, and is nearly worthless. The town is watered 
by one of the finest and most reliable streams in the 
state. About four miles southwest of the village, in the 
town of Dane, j r ou find a marsh, nearly circular, cover- 
ing from a section and a half to two sections of land. 
Around this marsh, in almost every direction, the land 
rises, and in some places to great heights. At the foot 
of these hills and about the borders of this marsh crop 
out springs innumerable, which, uniting in a single 
stream, flow in a northeasterly direction and form the 
west branch of Spring creek. Some of these springs are 
very small, while others are ten or twelve feet in diam- 
eter, from which wells up the purest water. 

This stream enters Lodi on the south line of section 
33, and continues its northeasterly course through sec- 
tions 33 and 34, and into section 27, where it receives, 
from the southeast, a tributary of the same character, 
which is called the east branch of Spring creek. At this 
point the stream takes a northwesterly course and flows 
out of the town through the west line of section S, into 
the town of West Point. About half a mile from the 
west line of Lodi, it receives a large tributary, known as 
Rowan's creek; thence, flowing oat on about a mile 
and a half, it discharges its waters into the Wisconsin 
river, opposite the village of Merrimac, in Sank county. 



638 TOWNS ABIACENT — LODI. * 

The value of this stream to the town can hardly be esti- 
mated. It determined the first point of settlement, and 
fixed the location of the village, and of the railroad. It 
furnishes one of the best water powers in southern Wis- 
consin. This pure spring water cannot be surpassed for 
the propogation and raising of fish. The east branch 
only as yet has been used in fish culture. 

About a half mile southeast of the village, on the east 
branch of Spring creek, ma} r be found the fish ponds of 

James McCloud, Nathaniel Goodall and Nelson, of 

which McCloud's are by far the most extensive. From 
the last named gentleman the following information 
concerning his doings in fish culture has been derived: 
He has in his park, of about two acres, six ponds 
stocked with fish, which are all doing well. Within this 
park are about a dozen springs, out of which gushes the 
purest spring water, which maintains almost an even 
temperature throughout the year. In April, 1875, he 
made two ponds, in one of which he put 1,000 young- 
brook trout or fry, and in the other, 5,000 fry of the 
Atlantic salmon. In the fall of the same year, he made 
four more ponds, one of which he stocked with brook 
trout one year old, one with black and white bass; and 
with the bass he also put in four sturgeon, which appear 
to do well. One pond he stocked with catfish. In 
November, 1875, he put into his hatching house 10,000 
spawn of the California salmon, which hatched out dur- 
ing the winter. The bass, catfish and two years old 
trout spawned last spring. 

Three ponds are now filled with young fish which 
are growing rapidly. The writer of this chapter visited 
these ponds last week and saw the fish fed. It is a 
sight worth many miles' travel. A thousand speckled 
trout, from six to ten inches long, within a space of 
about twenty feet square, leaping and gliding over each 



TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 639 

other and out of the water for their food (water clear as 
crystal), turning up their beautiful sides in the sunlight, 
would strengthen the weak eyes of an old fisherman. 

This creek had evidently been a favorite resort for the 
aborigines, as is proven by the great number of mounds 
along its banks. 

This stream is unfailing. When all the water powers 
for miles around have given out, parties can here get 
their grinding done. They have come here, in time of 
drought, even from beyond Madison, and " blessed is the 
man" who can get Lodi flour. 

Early Settlement. — In the month of April, 1845, 
two brothers, M. C. Bartholomew and G. M. Bartholo- 
mew, came from McLean county, Illinois, and settled on 
section 22, in this town. In May following came Rev. 
H. Maynard, a Methodist minister, and planted himself 
on section 21. In the fall of the same year came James 
McCloud, and stuck his stakes on section 27 and built 
his preemption house, which was a log house, near his 
present residence. This has been his home ever since, 
though in the spring of 1816 he was employed in running 
lumber on the Wisconsin river. On the last of October 
in this year came W. Gr. Simons and settled on section 
33, where he still resides. These were all the settlers 
who came that year. 

In 1846, came I. H. Palmer and settled on section 27, 
and in the spring of that year built his house, and dur- 
ing the year built a saw mill on the west branch of 
Spring creek. The building is still standing at the east 
end of Andrews' mill dam, and near the law office of R. 
Lindsay, Esq. In the same year came Adam Bowman, 
Nathan Bowman, Joseph Brown and Jacob Hurley, all 
of whom settled upon section 26; Aaron Chalfant and 
Johnson Sowards, on section 21; Amos and Jehu 
Strowd, on sections 25 and 36, and John Chance, on 



G10 TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 

section 19. In 1847, came T. S. Wells and settled on 
section 9; Nathaniel Goodall, upon section 26, and Peter 
Froland, upon sections 25 and 36. Others came in this 
year, and from this time the settlement progressed rap- 
idly. 

Indians. — When the first settlers came in 1815, they 
found ahout two hundred Indians encamped on the creek, 
near where the village now stands. These were mostly 
Winnehagoes; a few were Brothertowns. During that 
season they were very peaceable and friendly. In the 
fall of that year they all disappeared. In the year 1817, 
they came back, to the number of about eighty, with 
their chief, and camped on the creek below where the 
Bartholomews had settled. They soon began to show 
their natural propensities, and the property of the set- 
tlers occasionally disappeared. One of the settlers, Gr. 
M. Bartholomew, returning to his home from an absence, 
found the Indians had stolen a part of his hogs. He 
went to the chief and complained. The chief " denied 
the soft impeachment, 1 ' but the complainant insisted, 
and resolutely told Mr. Chief that he could have till the 
next morning when the sun was " so high," telling him 
how high by pointing, to be off. The chief promised to be 
off at once, and to go to the " Milwaukee Woods." There- 
upon Bartholomew roused the settlers, to the number 
of 20 to 25, and the next morning, when the sun was 
"so high" tlurv appeared at the spot "with horse and 
gun," but the Indians had left. Fearing they might 
camp again near enough to enable them to' continue 
their depredations, our cavalry followed their trail, and 
found them just striking their tents on Rowan's creek, 
in what is now the town of Dekorra, near the old tavern 
stand of James Wilson. As the settlers approached the 
camping ground, they were discovered by two hunters 
who were apparently going out to bring in some game, 



TOWNS ADJACENT — LOI)I. C41 

either tame or wild, and the hunters seeing the fearful 
array, and doubtless fearing " more to follow, 11 wheeled 
on their ponies, and rapidly returned. The pursuers 
halted, and Bartholomew went forward to the camping 
ground (their tents were not yet raised), and inquired 
of the chief if this were " Mil waukee Woods. 11 The chief 
answered "No; 11 whereupon he was informed that he 
could have just five minutes in which to take his depart- 
ure. At the expiration of the time named, the red skins 
were on the move. The pursuers followed at a respect- 
ful and effective distance as far as what is now the vil- 
lage of Po3 T nette, and then returned to their homes. 
The Indians never reappeared nor made further trouble. 

The first dwelling erected in town was a shanty by 
M. C. Bartholomew, in building which, he was assisted 
by two Brothertown Indians. This stood on section 22, 
near the spot where the barn of W. M. Bartholomew 
now stands. 

The second house was that of Rev. H. Maynard, on 
section 21, near the present residence of Jonas Narra- 
cong, and the third house was that of Gr. M. Bartholo- 
mew, on section 22, near the house now owned by Mil- 
ler Warren. 

Mills. The first mill erected in town was the saw 
mill by I. II. Palmer, as before stated; the next was a 
grist mill just below the junction of the two branches 
of Spring creek, on section 27, by Samuel Ring, in 1848, 
since owned by Freedom Simons, Adam Schoneberger, 
James H. Hill, and now owned and lately improved by 
Peter Kehl. Next, in 1849, came the grist mill of I. H. 
Palmer on the west branch of Spring creek, for a long 
time owned and run by him, and now owned and run 
by E. Andrews. 

Next came, in 1853, the grist mill on section 16, built 
and for a long time owned and run by Jonas Narracong, 
41 



6i2 TOWNS ADJA.GENT— LODI. 

since owned by Clark & Parr, afterwards owned again by 
Narraeong, and ]iow owned and run by Voss Brothers. 

In the same year, 1853, Dunlap & Blatchley erected a 
building on section 17, intended for a pail factory, which 
in 1858 was converted into a flouring mill, and for sev- 
eral years was run as such by various parties. It was 
burned in 1874, and has not been rebuilt. 

In or about the year 1855, Samuel Ring built a saw 
mill on section 8, at a point since known as Okee; this 
he afterwards sold to T. S. Wells, who added a feed mill, 
owned and run the mills for some time, and sold out to 
John Brownrig, who, in 1875, erected a large grist mill, 
and carding mill at the same place, which he still owns 
and runs. E. Andrews is now preparing to build a new 
flouring mill on section 27. 

All these mills are on Spring creek, which furnishes 
the only water power in town. 

The early settlers of this town were a sagacious and 
remarkably enterprising class of men. They saw that 
this water power, and the shape of the country surround- 
ing it, pointed to the valley of Spring creek as a 
business center, and that about the junction of these 
two branches of the creek, must be collected large man- 
ufacturing and business interests. They, accordingly, 
took off their coats and went resolutely and hopefully 
at the work of building up a town. 

I. H. Palmer, who has long been known in all the 
country round as Judge Palmer, he having been, in 
early times, county judge for a very large district about 
here, felt impressed with the idea that this place was 
related to the whole world, and in order to grow, the 
people must know what was going on abroad, and they 
must have " the papers." Therefore he applied to the 
government for a post office. The government, not 
knowing the promise of the location as well as the set- 



TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 643 

tiers, and regarding it as a small affair in an out of the 
way place, denied the application. Judge Palmer, noth- 
ing daunted, then proposed to the government, that if 
a post office could be located here, government should be 
at no expense for a year, either for the office or for carry- 
ing the mail. The nearest post office was Clark's Cor- 
ners, in the town of Springfield, Dane county, a distance 
of nine miles, and the the mail must be brought from that 
point. The government accepted the proposition, and 
the Judge was appointed the first post master of Lodi, 
in July, 1848. Until April, 1849, he carried and brought, 
or caused to be carried and brought, and distributed the 
mail to' and from Clark's Corners. The receipts of the 
office for the first quarter were $2.28. Unlike most 
offices, though it had a name, it had no local habitation, 
or rather, it had a portable habitation, being carried 
about in the judge's hat. 

As in the late war the military service became effi- 
cient when headquarters were in Gen. Grant's saddle, so 
in this young town the mail service was efficient when 
its headquarters were in Judge Palmer's hat, for it ap- 
peared that when the year had expired, the Government 
found that Lodi was something, or was going to be, and, 
in 1849, established a mail route here, with James 0. 
Eaton as P. M. He held the office till 1853, when H. M. 
Ayer was appointed. James 0. Eaton succeeded him in 
1861. In 1867, Robert Travis succeeded Eaton, and 
held the office till January, 1875, when H. R. Eaton, 
the present incumbent, was appointed. 

It is said that when Judge Palmer kept the postoffice 
in his hat, sometimes a sudden gust of wind would come, 
blow his hat off and scatter the mail. So it appears this 
town had its news literally " borne on the wings of the 
wind." 

Satisfied that Lodi gave promise of rapid increase of 



644 TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 

population and of becoming a good business point, in 
the summer of 1848, Judge Palmer platted a part of sec- 
tion 27 as a village, to which he afterwards made two 
additions. James McCloud has also made three addi- 
tions, and John Foote, one. The village was called Lodi, 
and incorporated in 1872, embracing section 27, and 
naught else. 

Its first officers were: Horatio N. Cowen, president; 
E. Andrews, Alex. Woods. James McCloud, H. C. Brad- 
ley, William Dunlap and Leonard F. Wanner, trustees; 
Carlos Bacon, clerk; John Foote, supervisor; J. M 
Pruyn, treasurer; H. M. Ayer, police justice. 

VILLAGE OFFICEES. 

1873. E. W. Gardner, president; E. Andrews, ¥m. Dunlap, 
I. V. N. Walker, Win. Goldspohn, Thos. Albiston, Fred. Hanson, 
trustees; H. M. Ayer, clerk; J. M. Pruyn, treasurer; H. M. Ayer, 
assessor; John Foote, supt. of schools; A. Woods, police justice. 

1874. E. W. Gardner, president; E. Andrews, Win. Dunlap, 
I. V. N. Walker, Win. Goldspohn, Thos. Albiston, Fred. Hanson, 
trustees; H. M. Ayer, clerk; H. L. Bancroft, treasurer ;John Foote, 
supt. of schools; G. T. Simons, constable; G. M. Bartholomew, jus- 
tice of the peace ; James Seville, police justice. 

1875. E. W. Gardner, president; E. Andrews, Wm. Dunlap, 
I. V. N. Walker, Wm. Goldspohn, Thos. Albiston, Fred. Hanson, 
trustees; H. M. Ayer, clerk; John Yule, treasurer; John Foote, 
supt. of schools; G. T. Simons, constable; G. M. Bartholomew, 
justice of the peace ; II. M. Ayer, police justice. 

1876. E. W. Gardner, president; E. Andrews, J. 0. Eaton, G. E. 
McKeebe, Wm. Goldspohn, Thos. Albiston, Peter Kehl, trustees; 
J. M. Bartholomew, clerk; John Yule, treasurer; Addison Eaton. 
supt. of schools; Alfred Clements, constable; S. S. Dunning-, justice 
of the peace; II. M. Ayer, police justice. 

1877. Thos. Albiston, president; E. Knuteson, E. Andrews, 
Peter Kehl, W. M. Bartholomew, Henry B. Bancroft, J. 0. Eaton, 
trustees; J. M. Bartholomew, clerk; Orrin Rice, treasurer; G. M. 
Bartholomew, police justice; E. W. Gardner, justice .of the peace; 
Addison Eaton, supervisor; J. U. Ray, constable. 

The first store was built in 1848, by I. II. Palmer, and 
occupied by James 0. Eaton, in December, of that year, 
which business was continued by said Eaton until 1S59. 
The second store was opened by Thomas & Pinney, 



TOWNS ADJACENT LODT. 645 

December, 1848, who afterwards sold out to Samuel 
Ring. The third store was opened by L. D. Barnes, in 
the tall of 1850, who during the same year took in as a 
partner, James McCloud, who in various forms has con- 
tinued in the business ever since. At present there are 
in business in the village of Lodi : General merchan- 
dise: Pruyn & Son, McCloud & Son, J. Seville, Eaton & 
Cowen and E. Knutesen. Drugs and medicines: Bar- 
tholomew and Wanner, and J. McCloud & Son. Hard- 
ware: E.B. Waite & Co., J. F. Collins & Bro. Harness: 
Chase & Harris and John Collins. Shoes: Chase & Co. 
Meat markets: J. M. Pruyn and C.Dearborn. Jeweler: 
Henry Haggard. Millinery: Mrs. Of. T. Simons, Mrs. 
Richards. Tailor: T. Watson. Livery: G. T. Simons, 
P.Watson. Furniture: C. Odell, M. Wickern. Black- 
smiths: Chrisler & Co., S. Holdridge. A. Ferguson, Hans 
Kleber. Wagons : Quiggle & Terrill, John Buchanan, 
Henry Schlosser. Shoemakers: M. Cain, Ole Logan. 
Hotels: Briggs House, by P. Watson; Northwestern, by 
J. T. Hidden. Restaurants: S. H. Hinds, Thos. Sparks. 
Groceries and provisions: Otto H. Hinrichs. Baker: L. 
Buerger. Lumber: Vanderpool & Goldspohn, J. Mc- 
Cloud. Dairy supplies: Vaughan & Brookman. Flour- 
ing mills; E. Andrews, P. Kehl. Cheese factory: Lodi 
Valley Cheese Co. Lawyers: R. Lindsay, S. H. Watson. 
Printer: Peter Richards, publisher of Lodi Valley News. 
Physicians: E. Howard Irvin, G. E. McKeebe, S. M. 
Blake. Dentist: E. B. Meeteer. Card printer and bar- 
ber: 0. F. Modler. 

On section 8, and near the west line of the same, on 
Spring creek, in 1855, Messrs. Matthews and Blatchley 
platted a small village. It was surveyed by G. M. Bar- 
tholomew, and named by him Okee, that being the In- 
dian name given to the creek near that point, which is 
now called Rowan's creek, from the name of Wallace 



646 TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 

Rowan, the first settler upon it. At Okee are Brown- 
rig's Mills, already described. 

Over twenty years since, Lodi felt deeply the want of 
a market. Situated about midway between Portage and 
Madison, surrounded on three sides by a most excellent 
farming country, the land descending to the village in 
all directions except where Spring creek passes out, the 
weighty products gravitated to this point. But no one 
could buy them, because twenty miles lay between the 
village and a railroad. Hence, the proprietors of the 
town, the business men, and the population as well, 
looked in all directions for an iron road. After many 
schemes, which for a time gave hope, had failed, at last 
the Chicago and Northwestern Company were induced, 
by the very liberal offer of §40,000 from Lodi, with con- 
siderable sums from other towns on the line, to build 
their road between Chicago and St. Paul through this 
town and village. The road was opened in the month 
of August, 1871. Thereupon, Lodi became at once a 
market town, and it is said that more grain and stock 
of all kinds are shipped from here than from any other 
station on the road. Lodi is no longer out of the world. 

Churches. — Methodist. The four settlers who came 
in 1815 were all Methodists; one of them a minister. 
In that year Rev. L. Harvey established a church, con- 
sisting of Rev. H. Majmard, his wife and daughter. M. 
C. Bartholomew, wife and daughter, and G. M. Barthol- 
omew and wife — eight. Class leader, Gr. M. Bartholo- 
mew w. The ministers who have served this church their 
time and order of service, are as follows: AYm. Smith, one 
year: J. Tasker, preached one year; Adams, six months; 
Rev. H. Maynard finished the year; S. P. Walden. 
one year; Jas. Holmes, six months; removed by Presid- 
ing Elder, and Matthias Woodley, finished the }-ear; E. 
Bonce two years; Nelson Butler Cochran, two years; 



TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 617 

S. Dodge, two years; J. B. Bacliman, two years; R. 
Delap, one year; K Butler, one year; J. S. Hurd, two 
years; J. D. Searles, two years; B. C. Hammond, one 
year; J. B. Bacliman, one year; J. T. Prior, two year-,; 
E. Tasker, two years; T. M. Fullerton, one year; W. 
H. Kellogg, two years; J. C. Aspinwall, two years. The 
church edifice was erected in 1853, at a cost of 
§1,500. Present number of members, one hundred and 
seventy. 

The Baptist Church was organized May 26, 1852, by 
the following elders: Moses Rowley, of Sun Prairie; 
Joseph Bowman, of Perry; Peter Conrad, of Baraboo; 
and Charles Perry, of Springfield. Pastors, in their 
order, have been, Joseph Bowman, 0. 0. Stearns, H. C. 
Fuller, and X. E. Chapin, who is at present pastor. 
This church worshipped in a school house till 1867. In 
1866, they built their present house of worship, at a 
cost of over §1,000 and dedicated it March 13, 186T. 
Its deacons, in their order, have been Peter YanNess, 
Alpheus King, William Grow and Freedom Simons. 
When formed, this church numbered seventeen mem- 
bers. It now numbers nearly one hundred. 

The First Presbyterian Church was organized by Rev. 
John N. Lewis, June 20, 1852. The corporate members 
were James 0. Eaton, Mary M. Eaton, Augustus P. 
Smith, Ann Eliza Smith, Robert Mann, Harriet N. 
Mann, Esther S. Lewis, Eliza Steele, Sophia Partridge 
and Sarah Strangeway — ten. Its ministers have been 
Rev. John N. Lewis, stated supply 1852-1857; Rev. B. 
G. Riley, stated supply -1857-1863; Rev. D. A. Bassett, 
1863-1866; Rev. Warren Mayo, pastor 1866-1872; Rev. 
J. W. Knott., pastor 1872, and present pastor. Church 
edifice built in 1857-1871, at a cost of §5,000. Present 
number of members, two hundred and forty-nine. 

A Universalist Church was enclosed in 1871, but 



CIS TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. 

has not been completed. There is also a small Cat/to//',' 
Church on section 1. 

Schools. — The first school was taught in a house 
erected in 1846, on section 27. The building was a small 
log house; the school opened in the fall of that year, and 
was taught by Miss Mary Yockey. The next school 
house was a frame building erected in 1851, also on sec- 
tion 27. After this time the ordinary common school 
of the state was organized in different districts through- 
out the town and served the people till the year 1857. 
In this year five districts, in and about the village,. were 
consolidated, and a graded school established therefrom. 
A large and commodious brick building was erected 
therefor on one of the most commanding sites in the 
village, at a cost of $10,000; James McCloud, contractor. 
The first principal of said school, was A. Gr. Riley; sec- 
ond, L. B. Everdell; third, J. C. Yocum; fourth, A. A. 
Miller; sixth, the present principal, W. E. Todd. 

This school has been, and still is, in a prosperous con- 
dition. It is maintained at an annual expense of about 
$3,000. 

The population of the town, at the last census, was 
1.418. 

Nearly all the people residing out of the village, and 
some within it, are engaged in farming. They are 
mostly American born. The adopted citizens are of 
almost all nationalities. 

The buildings of the village are mostly of wood; a 
few are built of stone and some of brick. By far the most 
substantial and noticeable business structure is Eaton's 
block, which is built of stone, and towers above all. It 
is a fit testimonial of the enterprise of its projector and 
of his interest and confidence in the town to which he 
has given the best energies of his life. 

With a first class water power, with a railroad and 



TOWNS ADJACENT LODI. G49 

market, with a population intelligent, enterprising and 
moral — as shown by its buildings, its schools and its 
churches — and surrounded by such a country, what 
shall hinder Lodi from making progress in the future 
equal to that made in the past? 

The writer of this chapter is under great obligations 
for the information contained in it to Hon. G. M. Bar- 
tholomew, Hon. I. H. Palmer, J. 0. Eaton, R. Lindsay, 
Esq., James McCloud, W. M. Bartholomew, Freedom 
Simons and Rev. J. W. Knott. 

Secret Societies. — Lodi Valley Lodge, iYo. 99, Free 
and Accepted Masons: Jonas Narracong, W. M.; J. E. 
Parke, S. W.; W. L. Wells, J. W.; J. S. Gardner, S.D.; 
W. D. Pratt, J. D.; A. Eaton, Treasurer; J. M. Pniyn, 
Secretary; J. E. Mandeville, Tyler. 

Perseverance Lodge, No. 272, /. 0. G. T: M. M. Mit- 
chell, W.C.T.; Flora L. Dean,W.V.T.; Wm. Slightam, 
P. W. C.T.; Rev. J. W. Knott, W. C; Mary L. Tabor, 
R.S.; Ida Merry man, A.R.S; W. E. Collins, F. S.; Ida 
Kimball, W.T.; Wilber Blake, W.M.; Ella Bartholo- 
mew, D.M.; Harry Irwin, W.G.; Albert Patterson, W.S,; 
Susie Ayer, R. H. S.; Emma Rathbun, L.H. S.; W. M. 
Dunlap, L.D. 

Temple of Honor : J. M. Pruyn,W.C.T.; John Foote, 
W.V.T.; G. W. Fenno,W.R.; Chas. Goodall, F.R.; W. 
M. Bartholomew, W. T.; G. M. Bartholomew, W. U.; 
William Dunlap D.U.; Peter Richards, W.G.; E. Knute- 
sen, W.S.; L. F. Wanner, D.S; L. E. Harris, P.W.C.T. 



650 TOWNS ADJACENT — EDGEKTON. 



EDGERTOK 

BY E. A. BUHBTCK, Esq. 

The village of Edgerton is located on the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, 71 miles west from Mil- 
waukee, li miles from Rock river, 26 -miles east of Mad- 
ison, and one mile south of the south line of Daue 
county, in Town 1, Range 12, on the corners of sections 
3 and 4 and 9 and 10. The town site was laid out in the 
summer of 1853, by Adin Burdick and L.H.Page. The 
same season H. S. Swift and Dr. C. R. Head also became 
interested in the town site. The depot was built the 
same season near the spot where the railroad crossed the 
Indian trail leading from old Fort Winnebago via Kosh- 
konoug lake to Chicago, traces of which can now be 
seen near here. The first store was opened by P. F. 
Davis, who was soon followed by others, among whom 
were Stiles Hakes, H. H. Coleman, Charles Clark, S. S. 
Williams, H. S. Swift, C. C. Root and others. A post- 
office was established in the fall, with 0. D. Peck as P. M. 

The first freight shipped here by railroad was on No- 
vember 25th, 1853. From this date, both freight and 
passenger traffic by railroad has been good and con- 
stantly increasing. For the past ten or twelve .years 
large amounts of leaf tobacco have been shipped from 
this station, this being the head of the tobacco growing 
region of Wisconsin; in fact more of this commodity has 
been bought and shipped from here than from all other 
points in the state combined. The average amount for 
several years past lias been something over ten thousand 
cases per year, requiring from two to five hundred thou- 
sand dollars each year to handle the crop thus market- 
ed. This, together with the usual products of an ex- 



TOWNS ADJACENT EDGERTON. 651 

tensive and rich farming country, finds a good market 
here, and gives this place a high position among the 
inland business towns of Wisconsin. We have six 
large tobacco warehouses, which are receiving and hand- 
ling the article daily, frequently employing quite an 
army of laborers at remunerative wages. 

For grain we have two elevators, besides several small 
warehouses, and quite an extensive business in the live 
stock trade. The amount bought and shipped from 
here will compare favorably with many larger towns. 

Our beople believe in liberal education, and we have 
a splendid graded school, managed by an able and com- 
petent board, who have spared no pains to obtain thor- 
ough and experienced teachers, who are doing a great 
and good work for the coming generation. 

The best interests of the people hereabouts, and the 
tobacco interest in particular, are carefully watched and 
championed by the " Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter," a 
newspaper started here some three years ago by W. F. 
Tousley, which is well patronized by the public in this 
vicinity, as its long list of subscribers fully attests. Its 
present circulation is nearly six hundred. Great pains 
is taken by the proprietor to give all market reports 
relating to tobacco throughout the United States, and 
Wisconsin in particular. 

Business Directory. — Hotels: American House, W. 
Clatworthy; United States, H. H. Dickinson. Pysicians 
and Surgeons: B. Burdick, H. H. Judd, S.L. Lord. 'At- 
torney: J. P. Towne. Carpenters: J. Grazlay, T. War- 
ren. Tobacco dealers: W. P. Bentley, W.W. and H.W. 
Child, N. Taylor, Rowe & Taylor, T. Hutson, E. H. 
Wheeler, Andrew Jensen. Hard/rare: J. D. Hain, G.W 
Howard. Blacksmiths: J. Walter, Hal ver 0. Lintvedt, 
Burdick & Co., D. B. Springer, D. Green. Drags and, 
merchandise: Dr. Stillman, J. Copley, J. C. Croft & Co. 



(353 TOWNS ADJACENT EDGERTON. 

Crockery and merchandise: Mary Riley. Lumber: J. I. 
Lnsk, R. R. Brown. Insurance: Geo. B. Leonard, E. C. 
Hopkins. Merchant Tailor: J. Mcintosh. Furniture: 
W. H. Clark. Livery: C. L. Brown, S. C. Humphrey, 
N. Taylor, H. H. Dickinson. Wagons caul Carriages: 
T. L. Stillman, Nelson Loe. Burdick & Co., Halver 0. 
Lintvedt. Dressmaking: Mrs. J. A. Johnson. Mil- 
linery: Wilson & Taylor. Dry Goods, Clothing ami 
merchandise: E. W. Babcock, Mabbett & Perry, Jas. 
Croft. Boot and Shoemakers: Jacob Johnson, P. 0. 
Burdick. Barber: J. Johnson. Harness: J. A. Heri- 
tage. Butchers: Cordner & Attlesej^. Watchmaker: 
John Spencer. Baker g : J.N. Moulthrop. Stock deah r: 
P. B. Huntington. Feed and Flour: J. McChesney. 
Fulton Flour Mills: White Bros. 

Churches. — Methodist Episcopal, Rev. W. D. Ames, 
pastor. Episcopal Church, Rev. H. Green, pastor. Prim- 
itive Methodist, Rev. C Hendra, pastor. German Lu- 
theran, Rev. John Koerner, pastor. St. Joseph Catholic 
Church, Rev. Father C. T. Deviue. 

Secret Societies. — A. F. and A. M.; regular com- 
munications of Fulton Lodge, No. 69, Free and Accepted 
Masons, meet in Masonic Hall; C. H. Dickinson, W.M., 
G. W. Price, Sec'y. 1. 0. 0. F.— Edgerton Lodge, No. 
133, meet in their hall over Methodist church; Byron 
Long, N.G., G.W. Price, R.S. I.O.G.T.— Edgerton Un- 
ion Lodge, No. 145, meet in Croft's Hall; W. D. Ames, 
W.C.T., II. H. Judd, W.R.S. P. of H.— Fulton Grange, 
No. 195, meet at Croft's Hall; R. T. Powell, Master, W. 
P. Bentley, Sec'y. T. of H. and T.— Guiding Star Tem- 
ple, No. 109, meets at Croft's Hall; H. H. Judd,W.C.T., 
H. R. Gwalter, W.R. 

E. A. Burdick, merchant and postmaster. 

W. F. Tousley, editor and proprietor Edgerton To- 
bacco Reporter 



COUNTY OFFICERS. 



DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 

1839 to 1877. 



In pursuance of an act entitled "An act to organize the counties of Dane 
and Fond du Lac," approved Mar. 11, 18:39, an election was held at the Amer- 
ican Hotel, Madison, on the first Monday of May, 1839, and the following offi- 
cers elected for Dane county: 

Hoard of Commissioners. 
1839-40. Eben Peck, chairman, Simeon Mills, Jeremiah Lycan, commis- 
sioners; La Fayette Kellogg, clerk (resigned, R. L Ream appointed); John 
Stoner, treasurer; Robert L. Ream, register of deeds; George P. Dela- 
phiine, county surveyor (resigned, ffm.N. Seymour, appointed): Win. A. 
wheeler, assessor; N.T. Parkinson, sheriff; John Catlin, district attorney ; 
David Hyer coroner; Isaac Atwdod, public administrator; John T. Wil- 
son, auctioneer; Adam Smith, constable. 
August 7, 1839-40. Adam Smith, collector; Mahlan Blaker (resigned, 
La Fayette Kellogg appointed), Wm. N. Seymour, George Vroman, assess- 
ors; Ed Campbell, school inspector; Wm. N. Seymour, district surveyor; 
Abel Rasdall, constable. 
October 5, 1840-41. Simeon Mills, chairman, Ehen Peck, Prescott Brig- 
ham, commissioners; R. L. Ream, clerk; I. 11. Palmer, treasurer; II. F. 
Grossman, collector (to fill vacancy by resignation of A. Smith); E. M. 
Williamson, II. W. Porter, David ilyer, assessors; A. Rasdall, constable. 
January 3, 184'i. Prescott Brigham, chairman, Horace W. Potter, P. W. 
Malts, commissioners; E. M.Williamson, clerk; Erastus Quivey, treas- 
urer; Ira W. Bird, register of deeds; Calvin Frink, collector; Wm. A. 
Webb (resigned, George P. Detaplaine appointed), Volney Moore, Nathan 
Kellogg, asSes-ors; T. M. Wilcox, county surveyor (resigned. E. M. Wil- 
liamson appointed); A. A. Bird, sheriff; H. C. Parker, constable (app'd). 

1843. Wm. D. Daggett, chairman, Wm, A. Wheeler, Solomon Shafer, com- 
missioners; E.M. Williamson, clerk; Erastus Quivey, treasurer (resigned, 
Darwin Clark appointed); Ira W. Bird, register of deeds; A. A. Bird, sher- 
iff; Calvin Frink, collector; Alex. L. Collins, district attorney. 

1844. W. A.Wheeler, chairman, A.W. Dickinson,W. II. HubTmrd (resigned, 
B. F. Collins appointed): S. ratlin, clerk; P. W. Matts. treasurer; Jas. Sul- 
livan, assessor; E. M. Williamson, surveyor; Geo. P. Dclaplaiue, collect- 
or; I. W. Bird, register of deeds; A. A. Bird, sheriff; A. L. Collins, dis- 
trict attorney; Andriis Vial] and J. E. Abbott, constables. 

184.%. E. Brigham. chairman. L. S. Augur, Wm. A. Webb, commissioners; 
E. M. Williamson, clerk; P. W. Matts. treasurer; E. Burdick, county sur- 
veyor; G.T. Long, register of deeds; l.W. Bird, sheriff; T. Daily, W. Ras- 
dall, J. W. Thomas, assYs; C. Abbott, dist. att'y; A. B. Catlin, collector. 

January 5. 1840. Wm. A. Wheeler, chairman, J. R. Larkin, L. Stone, 
commissioners; E. Burdick, clerk (appointed in place of E, M. William- 
son, resigned); M. S. Van Bergen, treasurer; J. a. Knapp. register of 
deeds; E. M. Williamson, county surveyor; G B. Smith, district attorney; 
G. Vroman, J. Meyers, assessors; R.G. Carpenter, In. II. Smith, constables. 

The Board of Commissioners having been changed by law to the Board of 
Supervisors, represented by the chairman from each town in the county, the 
first session of said board was held on Monday, the 14th day of September, 
1846, when the following gentleman appeared as members: 

Hoard of Supervisors. 
1840-47. Wm. C. Wells, chairman, Ed. Campbell, Jas. R. Larkin, S. 

Head, A. Barlow, J. Lawrence, R. Boyce (Wm. Quivey acted as substitute 

for Mr. Boyce, during his sickness, until January 4, 1847). 
1847-48. W. C. Wells, chairman, H. L. Bush, W. II. H. Coon (deputy for 

Wm. Mayhew till January 3, 1848), R. Warden, L. Faruum, D. M. Holt, R, 



P>~K DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 

Boyce, D. Tipple, W. A. Pierco, R. Atwood, C. M. Nichols, J. Yroman. J. 
Sander.-, W. M. Mayhew, W. Boyce. 
1848— 1!). Geo. Anderson, chairman, C. Maxon, W. W. Patrick, E. Brig- 
ham, A. Keyes, P.. Hancy, A. Harris, G. C. Cowen, 1). C. Miller, R. P. 
Pawson (resigned, O. B. Moore elected), J. Vronian, W. C. Wells, 0. Linn, 
T. F.Whittlesey, J. Webb, A. Salsbury, l>. Wheeler, J. Lawrence, S. R. 
Ayer*, J. M. Babcock, (deceased, P. Rider appointed); 31. Nosh, S. Taylor, 

C. Si. Nichols, lj. B. Freeman, 

lS4tf-50. Berry llaney, chairman, J. J. Clark, Wm. H. Clark, E. Brigham, 
Chas. Drakeley, Geo. Babcock, O. B. Moore, S.R.Ayres, L. S. Argur, J. 

M. iUatts, A. Salsbury, J. Lawrence. B. Fairchild, U. Cody, Win. Barrus, 
A. A. Boyce, N. P. Spaulding, M. Mai lory, W. Brown, D. Thomas, G. E. 
Cowen (resigned, J. Blake appointed), R. Brown, A. E. Adsitt, J. Nelson, 
William C. Pood, O. Cook, I). Wheeler, <J. Harlow, Charles Bird. 
18X0-51. Wm. M. Colladay, chairman, I. S. Brown, J. Bowman, G. D. 
Neal (resigned, D. M. Stillman appointed), J.T.Lewis (substitute for 
N. H. Dryden during his sickness;, W. W. Patrick, R. Brown, M. S. Fos- 
ter. J. W. Thomas, C*. O. Babcock. H. L. Foster, S. Oziah, C. Reeves, H. 
W. Yager, VV. N. Scvmour. L. Parmer, C. Lnm, J. M. Matts (resigned, N. 
J. Tompkins appointed). Wm. Dudley, J. Phillips, Z. Gilbert, T. M. War- 
ren, E. Isham, P. Winston, P. Munger, C. Bird, A. A. Bovce, W. Barrus, 
T. P. Hill, N. P. Spaulding, I). E. Emery. 

1851-52. C. Lum, chairman, A. Bnrdick, T. Haney, M. Ripley, J. Bow- 
man, X. J. Tompkins, C. Reeve, D. Havidson, H. Van Orman, T. Arland, 

D. C. Miller, A. E. Adsit, O. B. Moore, J. Glott, 3. Keenan. L. J. Farwell, 
(R. T. Davis to fill vacancy), W. Gammon, J. W. Thornton, W. Dudley, 
(J. Devine to fill vacancy), II. C. Chandler, Z. Gilbert, T. M. Warren, E. 
Isham, W. Beardsley, P. N. Ashmore, A.Bailey, A.Henry, I. Mann, J. 
Collins, E. Grover, D. E. Emery. 

1852-53. E. Isham, chairman, J. H. Potter, R. W. Denison, T. Steele, R. 
D. Frost, J. Bowman, J. R. Butler, A. E. Adsit, J. Keenan, J. Webb, W. 
Gammon, I. M. Bennett, H. C. Chandler, J. Bronte, W. Beardsley, H. 
Childs, C. Flower, W. Barrus, I. Mann, O. M. Cros-s. J. Collins, D. E. Em- 
ery, A. Smith, R. Brown, H. Van Orman, J. Steele, O. E. Mclntyre, C. Bar- 
nard, P. Dunning (Mr. Warren to fill vacancy), II. J. Jackson, R.Rich- 
ards, Mr. Thompson. 

1853-54. Calvin Barnard, chairman; J. J. Clark, Thomas Barber, Richard 
D. Frost, Thos. Steele, Daniel Pickett, John Yroman, Orien B. Hazeitine, 
Nathan G. Van Horn, W. P. Taylor, Wm. F. Baker, Jas. Steele, A. E. Adsir, 
Wm. M. Colladay, John Keenan, J. T. Marston, Sardine Muzzy, Elisha 
Bailey, 0. II. Miillctte, C. P. Moselev, D. Wheeler, J. C, B. Richards, E. 
Isham, J.P. McPherson, G.O. Babcock, VV. A. Pierce. A. White, D.K. Butler, 
M. Read, 0. M. Cross, D. E. Emery, J. Mosher. 

1854-55. Wm. P. Taylor, chairman; J. M. Wood, Thos-. Barber, Levi E. 
Thompson, R. D. Frost, E. Brigham, Daniel Pickett, E. Grover, Jr., G. 
Dow, J. Pead, J. Steele, A. E. Adsit, J. Mosher, Win. M. Colladay, S. W. 
Field, J. II. Lewis, L. Hatch. £. Bailey, 0. H. Mullette, C. P. Moseley, B. 

F. Denson, Z. Gilbert, J. Chandler, C. W. Waterl. ry, H. Bigelow, R. Black- 
burn, Wm. Beardsley, C. Flowers, J. Beath, J. Poyner, J. Collins, J. C. 
Pinney, G. Van Gaasbeck. 

1855-56, Wm. M. Colladav, chairman; E. Sherman, J. W. Ford. L. E. 
Thompson, J. R. Hiestand, T. Steele, Wm. A. Field, N. G. Van Horn, II. 
Catlin. J. Pead. A. G. Hadder, L. Knudson. C. Barnard, S. W. Field, H. J. 
Hill, M. D. Currier, W. Gammons. O. H. Mullette, I. M. Dennett, B. F. 
Denson, J. A. Johnson, J. La Follette, C. W. Waterbury, S. W. Graves, 
A. Malone, Geo. Johnson, B. T. Cameron, J. Beath, J. Poyner,L. Ryan, E. 
Combs, G. II. Van Gaasbeck, E. Grover. Jr., O. M. Palmer. 

1850-57. W.M. Colladay, chairman, E. Sherman, C. Laughlin, J. B. Sweat, 
J.P. Hiestand, T. Steele',W.A. Fields, D.tS. Crandall, A. Norman, J. Bryan, 
A. G. Hadder, A. E. Adsit, J.Allen, S. Nve, II. J. Hill, A. E. Brooks, N. B. 
Van Slvke. A. S. Wood, S. M. Van Bergen, II. S. Clark, W. Gammons, P. 
W. Mat'ts, E. W. Dwight, A. Sanderson, J. L. Lewis, Z. Gilbert, I. M.War- 
ren, S. W. Craves. J. P. McPherson, W. Beardsley, C. Bailey, J Caldwell, 
S. B. Coryell, M. 0"Malley, J. W. Helden, A. A. Huntington, C. G. Lewis, 

G. Bjornson, II, Jones. 



DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 657 

1S57-58. P. W. Matts, chairman, G. W. McDougal, Chas. Laughlin, S. H. 
Vcdder, R. D. Frost, T. Steele, W. A. Field, C. G. Lewis, I. Brown, W. R. 
Taylor, J. Bryan, W. J. Welch, W. H. Miller, E. H. Lacy, O. B. Moore. J. 
Keenan, II. J. Hill, A. E. Brooks, N. B. Van Slyke, C. G. Mayers, S. M. 
Van Bergen, C. Lum,E. Bailey, R. Boyce, B. F. Denson, J. Chandler, J. A. 
Johnson^ J. Pauly, S. Axtell, J. P. McPherson, Win. lieardsley, L. H. Pear- 
sons, J. H. Steele, W. D. Stanley, J. Beath, J. Kershaw, J. W. Helden, A. 

A. Huntington, H. M. Warner. 

1858-59. J. Beath, chairman, G. W. McDougai, C. Laughlin, J. Greening, 
R. S. Frost, E. Dale, W. A. Field, C. G. Lewis, N. G. Van Horn, W. R. 
Taylor, J. M. Hawley, R. Bower, W. H. Miller, E. E. Roberts, O. E.McIn- 
tire, J. Keenan, W. D. Bird, T. Heerau, D. J. Powers (resigned, E. S. Oak- 
ley appointed), J. G. Critliu. T. Kenney, C. Lam, J. B. Colton, P. W. 
Matts-, M. Wolf, B. F. Denson, N. Randall, J. A. Johnson, S. W. Graves, 
C. W. Waterbury, O. B. Hazeltine, J. P. McPhorson, J. Wiessenborn, L. H. 
Pearsons, J.C. Steele, D.K. Brittou, C.H. Arnold, S.H. Sabine, A. Sawyer. 

1859-60. A. M. Hanchett, chairman, G. F. Lawton, O. Kerl, W. A. Webb, 
S. F. Lighthizier, 5T. H. Drvden, E. Crowell, E. Grover. Jr., J. T. CrandaU, 
E. E. Emerson, J. Bf. Haiie'y, W. Dunlap. A. E. Adsit, E. E. Roberts, A. L. 
Beebe, J. E. Mann, T. Reynolds, A. Sherwin. E. S. Oakley, 1>. Clark, C. 
Fairchild, L. A. Lincoln, J. B. Colton, P. W. Matts, M. Colby, O. B. Daley, 
H. M. La Follette. T. B. Ames, C. E. Loveland, F. Ritchie, R. Blackburn, 
R. Ford, C. Flowers, G. Beatty, J. Beath, H. Cramer, W. Keel'e, A. H. Pin- 
ney, A. Sawyer. 

1860-61. T. Reynolds, chairman, L. O. Humphrey, J. W. Ford, H. M. 
Warner, S. F. Lighthizier, E. Dale, Mr. Adams, Mr. Lewis, W. D. Potter, 

C. Drakeley, J. Haney, W. Dunlap, L. Torgerson, B. Barnard, A. L. Beebe, 
J. Keenan," Mr. Zehnpfenning, J. Byer, J. Byrne, Mr. Stickney (O. Park 

ubstitute during sickness of Mr. Sticknev), A. M. Hanchett, E. Bailey, J. 
M. Matts, E. W. Dwight, Mr. Sanderson, G. Tollefsou, F. B. Ames, S. W. 
Graves, F. Ritchie, H. Stevens, S. T. F. Ward, C. Flower, G. Beatty, W. 
Carlton. H. Cramer, J Tiernes, I. N. DeForest, L. G. Shephard, J. M. 
Gile, F. C. Festner. 
1861-62. J. P. McPherson, chairman, L. O. Humphrey, J. Bunnagel, O. B. 
Hazeltine. J. L. Davison, T. Haney, R. W. Davison, A. D. Goodrich, D. 

B. Crandall, W. R. Taylor, T. Murphy, A. J. Luce, L. Torgerson, H. H. 
Giles (resigned: W. M. Key appointed), \V. M. Colladav, J. Keenan, H. A. 
Tenney, F. O'Bryan, J. W Sumner, D. Clark, T. Kinney, G. T. Whitney, 
E. Bailev, P. W. Malts, J. D. Tipple, J. Jones, G. Bjornson, W. Chandler, 
Z. Gilbert, 11. A. Colburn, P.Ritchie, R.Ford, C. Flower, G Beatty, W. 
Charletou (resigned, J. Heath appointed), H. Cramer. H. J. Benson, I. N. 
DeForest (.resigned, J M. Miller appointed), W. H. Slater, Mr. McBride. 

The Board having met under the law providing for the government of the 
county by district representation, the following gentlemen appeared on the 
13th day of January, 1862, and took their seats: 

District Hejtrcscn tn ti res. 

1862-63. 1st district, W. M. Colladav: 2d, J. Douglas; 3d, Otto Kerl; 4th, 

E.Dale; 5th, P. H. Turner. Mr. Colladav, chairman. 
1864-65. 1st district, F. B. Ames ; 2d. J. E. Hidden ; 3d, Otto Kerl ; 4th, M. 

Colbv: 5th. H. J. Hill. Mr. Colby, chairman. 
1866-67. 1st district, F. B. Ames; 2d. O. W. Thornton: 3d, Mansfield Ar- 

ries; 4th, M. Colby; SthNeely Gray, (deceased, Timothy Brown appointed', 

Mr. Ames, chairman. 

1867. 1st district, F. B. Ames; 2d, O. W. Thornton; 3d, D. Schafcr; 4tb, 
M. Colbv; 5th, Timothy Brown. Mr. Ames, chairman. 

1868. ls"t district, F. B' Ames; 2d, O. W. Thornton; 3d, D. Schafer; 4th, 

D. L. Dalev: 5th, Timothv Brown. Mr. Ames, chairman. 

1869 1st district. W. M. Colladav: 2d, O. W.Thornton; 3d,M. Arries; 4th, 

D. L. Daley (resigned, W. C. B. Weltzin substituted); 5th, H. J. Hill. Mr. 

Thornton, "chairanam. 
1870, ending March 24th. 1st district, W. M. Colladav; 2d, H. D. Good 

now; 3d, O. B. Hazeltine; 4th L. M. Anderson ; 5th, H. J. Hill. Mr. Hill, 

chairman. 
42 



658 DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 

1870-71. Commencing May 23d, when Board met under the township 
system of representatives, and the following chairmen of towns and repre- 
sentatives from the wards of Madison, took their seats: 

County Supervisors by Xowhs and City Wards. 

J. P. McPherson, chairman, L. O. Humphrey, J.C. Fischer, J. Adams, R. D. 
Frost, J. Mitchell, R. 1>. Freeman, 8. Ll. Hall, J. E. Johnson, T. Black, T. 
Murphy, II. 11. Brereton, K. O. Heimdall, W. H. Watson, W.T. McConnell, 
W. D. Bird, H. J. Hill, T. C Bourke,W. T. Leitch, J.M. Bowman, C.G. Ma- 
yers, S. Moulton,\V.lI. Porter, E. Bailey, J. Lyle, J.S. Jackson, L.M. Ander- 
son, S. Halland (resg'd, Mr. Glenhus appt'd), W. Seamonson, J. Br'osmer, 
C. E. Loveland, W. Beardsley, F. Allen, C. Pond, W. H. Chandler, J. Ollis, 
J. H. Steaman, G. Beatty, VV. Woodward, E.A. Spencer, J. Phillips. 

1871-72. W. H. Chandler, chairman; O. S. Head, H. Keller, J. McKenzie, 
A. Morton, O. Hanson, 1. W. Ilaner, S. U. Hall, VV. B. West, W. R. Tay- 
lor, T. Murphy, H. H. Brereton, A. E. Adsit, R. S. Allen, O. B. Moore, J. 
Travis, E. E. Bryant, T. C. Bourke, C. H. Billings, A. llerfiirth, J. Miller, 
S. Moulton, VV. II. Porter, W. Ankitell, J. W. JN'orton, P. Baldwin, L. M. 
Anderson, W. C. B. Weltzin, VV. Seamonsou, J. Brosmer, S. Divali, J. P. 
McPherson, N. Martin, J. Norris, C. Pond, J. Ollis, J. Stewart, S. Cald- 
well, J. H. Tierney, E. A. Spencer, G. Weeks. 

1872-73. E. A. Spencer, chairman; W. Short, F. Schuman, J. McKenzie, 
S. F. Lighthizier, O. Hanson, A. Chipman, T. ,S. Phillips, J E. Johnson, 
W. R. Taylor, R. Burns, O. Chipman, P. B. Grinde, G. B. Moore, R. S. Al- 
len, Abel Dunning, P. Barry, M. B.French, C. H. Billings, 11. Christof- 
fers, L. D. Stone, S. Moulton (resigned, Mr. Clifford appointed), W. H. 
Porter, VV. Gammon, J. Seeley, P. Baldwin, L. M. Anderson, VV. C. B. 
Weltzin, W. Seamonson, M. Tlieisen, M.Johnson, N. Martin, J. Norris. C. 
Pond, J. Gibbons, J. Ollis, J. Stewart, S. Caldwell, J. H. Tierney, J. John- 
son, S. Divali. 

1873-74. W. R. Taylor, chairman (resigned, P. Baldwin elected); G. B. 
Huntington, F. Schuman, J. McKenzie, D. Bechtel, O. Hanson, J. M. Han- 
er, A. Smith, S. H. Butler, P. Zander, R. Steele, P. B. Grinde, J. Allen, W. 
T. McConnell, P. Barry, G. C. Russell, B. M. Minch, J. Rodermuud, J. G. 
Ott, L. D. Stone, G. F. Clifford, J. Hart, W. Gammons, J. Seeley, P. Bald- 
win, L. M. Anderson, C. Dixon (resigned, Mr. Seamonson appointed), G. 
T. Mandt, M. Theisen, S. Tusler, M.Johnson (resigned, Mr. Maloue ap- 
pointed,) N. Martin, R. S. Allen, F. L. Warner, W. H. Augell, J. Ollis, H. 
H. Cornwell, S. J. Caldwell, J. H. Tierney, W. Blanchard, J. Phillips. 

1871-73. G. C. Russell, chairman; J. H. Palmiter, W. Stunipf, W. Man- 
waring, D. Betchel, O. Hanson, A. Chipman. A. Smith, J. E. Johnson, I. 
Adams, P. Zander, T. Leitch. P. B. Grinde, W. II. Watson, W. Lalor, J. 
Travis, Thos. C. Bourke, George A. Mason, John Geo. Ott, L. D. Stone, 
L. Clark, VV. H. Porter, W. Gammons (resigned, E. Bailey appointed). J. 
Lyle, P.Baldwin, L.M. Anderson, E. Pederson, W Seamonson, P. M. 
Fabing (resigned, M. Theison appointed) S. Tusler, M. Johnson, D. Ford 
F. Allen, W. H. skitter, W. H. Angell, K.J. Poyner, J. Stewart, O. M. Hei- 
land tresig'd, Mr. Blake appointed), J.H. Tierney, D. Crowley, J. Phillip. 

1873-76. G. C. Russell, chairman: J. H. Palmiter, W. Stumpf, W. Man- 
warring, D. Bechtel, O. Hanson, J. E. Hidden, F. Ritchie, S. E. Billsted, 

C. Drakelev, H. J. Boiling, T. Leitch, P. B. Grinde, J. E. Wright, J. Samp- 
son, J. McWilliams, William Tallender, John N. Jones, Stephen D. Car- 
penter, A. Sexton, L. Clark, W. II. Porter (W. Knapton, substitute) F. 
Elvei, J. Lyle, P. Baldwin, L. M. Anderson, W. C. B. Weltzin, A. B. De- 
voe, P. M Fabing, C. E. Loveland, M. Johnson, D. Ford, J. Norris, T. C. 
Hayden. C. G. Cross, R. J. Poyner, J. Stewart, A. B. Elbe, J. H. Tierney 

D. Crowley (resigned, O. S. Holum appointed', J. Phillips. 

1876-77. G. C. Russell, chairman; J. H. Palmiter, J. C. Fischer, D. D. 
Logan, D. Bechtel, O. Hanson, J. E. Hidden, F. Ritchie, P. N. Johnson, 
C. Drakeley, H. J. Boiling, M. L. Boyce, K. O. Himdall, J. E. Wright, J. 
M. Sampson, D. L. Van Hoesen, J. Hess, Robert Wootton, Stephen D. 
Carpenter, J. Nader, J. I). Bradford, L. Clark, W. H. Porter, F. Elver. J. 
Lvlc, P. Baldwin, L. M. Anderson, W. Q. B. Weltzin (resigned, O. O. Bar- 
ton app'd), W. B. Atkinson, P. M. Fabing, C.E. Loveland, M. Johnson, D. 
Ford, J.C. Chandler (re'gned, J. Norris app'd), F.L.Warner, C.G. Cross, R.J. 
Poyner, H. Hathaway, S\ J. Caldwell, J.H. Tierney, H.S. Grinde, J. Phillips. 



DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 



659 



County Clerks from the date of their election to each successor 



1847— Elisha Burdick 
1848— Royal Buck 
1849— Syslvester Giles 



1853 — Gabr. Bjornson 
1857— E. J. Reuter 
1859— J. P. M'Pherson 



I860— J. A. Johnson 

1800—11. Borchsenius 

1873— W. C.B.Weltzin 



1875— Phillip Barry, present incumbent 

County Treasurers front date of eh ction up to their successors. 

fSiiTf.'. K ' \f , kin ' im~^ m ' D - Bird I »«eO-Wm. Vioman 
«t~« h ' i - s ,r t l- I **£5-Wni. A. Wheeler 1865— L. VV. Hoyt 

ti?-" '»• ? ■$ yman {*57-E. II. Gleason I 18ti7-\Ym. < lmHeton 

18oO-Wayh L. \ arney | 2SS9— Frank Gaul t | i*<7— Frank B. Ames* 

187<j— B. M. Minch, present incumbent 

[* Deceased, Win. McOonneil elected to fill vacancy.] 

Register of Deeds from dale of election up to their successors. 
lH v -I r ra r, W ,"» r ' in l ! **5*-John 1!. Sweet I 186()-Am\\v. Pickarts 

^.;« n '?■■ "?' es ' i * 5 °— James G. Fox [ 2*6 7-John Gibbon 
io£?~~V abnel ,n. 1 V, Lon S| 2«57— C. Cornehusen I 2*7 J— John II Clark. 
1851— James G. Fox I 1859— Fred. Mohr | 1873-L. J. Grinde 

1877—0. S. Holum, present incumbent. 



Count// Surveyors 
1849— D. P. Travis 
1853-H. Babbitt 
1855— Wm. II. Hough 
1859 — John Douglas 

District. Attorneys 
1849— Chatin. Abbott 
1851— Geo. B. Smith 
1853— Samuel R. Roys 
1855— Myron II. Orton 
2*57— J. W. Johnson 



from date of election up 
1860—T. D. Coryell 
1862— P. W. McUabe 
1865— H. A. Warner 
1867— C. H. Barton 

from date of election tip 
1859— E. W. keyes 
J 860— Henry M. Lewis 
18 62— C. T. Wakeley 
1865— Sidney roote 
1867— Farlin Q. Ball 



?o their successors. 
1869- L. P. Drake 

i 1871— S. W. Graves 
1875— John Douglas 
2*77— Jas. Melvile 

f© their successors. 
1869— H. J. Chase 
187 1-J. C. McKenney 
1873— Burr W. Jones 
1877— W. H. Rogers 



Sheriffs from date of election up to their successors 



1849— P. W. Matts 
1851— A. Main 
IS.;.?— P. W. Matts 
1855 — Andrew Bishop 
2*57— John D.Welch 



1859 — Andrew Bishop 
1860— Albert Slier win 
1862— WUlett S. Main 
1865— Geo. BlcDougal 

1*67— Willett S. Main 



1869 -B. Hancock 
1 8 7 1 — Andrew Sexton 
1873 — John Adams 
18 75 — J. \ . Kiser 

1877— Win. Charleton 



Coroners— 1851, Chas. Wilson 1833-4, Andew Bishop. 1853-6, O W.Thorn- 
»ii ^ ( 'o-; B A N ^ C r a8we11 - 1839-60, Alex. Norman. 1860-61, Alex. Still- 
well. 1862-5, D.D Carpenter. 1865-6, William M. Colladay. 1867 to 1872, 
P. R. Tierney. 1873-4, P. Bacon. 1875-7, John Arians. 

County Superintendents of Poor. 

At a meeting of the board of supervisors, held January 18, 1834, a resolu- 
tion was offered by Mr. O. H. MaRette, from town of Montrose, that three 
superintendents of county poor be appointed; one to hold office for three 
years, one for two years, and one for one year, which was adopted, and on the 
19th the board proceeded to ballot for candidates with the following result: 
1854-6-Wm. R. Taylor. 1834-5-James P. McPherson. 1854— Elijah Isham. 

Each election thereafter being for three years, commencing in January and 
ending December, the following gentlemen have been elected to the office: 

16 ct" 7 t^T w ' DoW , JS? 6 c f~£- P - McPherson 1837-9- W. R. Taylor 1858-60- 
H. M. Warner 1So9-61— Peter W. Matts 18H0-8— W. R Taylor 1861-3— 
H. M. Warner 1862-4-P W. Matts 1863-5-W. R. Taylor 18W-6-H. M. 
Warn , e £o l^ZS y- ¥ atts l8fi «-?-W. R. Taylor 1867-9-H M. War- 
ner 1868-70-VV W. Tredway. 1869-71-Wm. R. Tavlor, (resigned, O. W. 
Thornton elected to fill vacancy") 1870-2— H. M. Warner 1871-3— T E 
Bird 187S-4—0 W.Thornton 1873-5— H. M. Warner (deceased. J. Mcken- 
zie elected to hH vacancy) 1874-6-T.E Bird 1875-7-J.E. Mann 1876-8 
— John Mckenzie 1877-9. 



660 DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 

The following named persons have been the successive judges of the coun- 
ty court of the county of Dane, from its organization up the present time, 
which has been kindly furnished us by the Hon. Gabriel Bjornsou. 

County Judr/cs. 

Hon. I. H. Palmer, of Lodi, Columbia county, was the first acting county 

judge; but only signed one order as such, dated June 50th, 1S40. 
Hon A. Botkin was iiext judge, dating from Nov. 28, 1842, to May 1, 1S43. 
William W. Wyman became county judge from June 1, 1843, to Jan, 4. 1845. 
Jesse A. Clark, from April 12, 1845, to December 31, 1840. 
E. B. Dean, Jr., from January 1, 1847 to December 31, 1848 
Daniel B. Snedden, from January 1849 to end of December of the same year 
Hon John Catlin, from January, 1850 to October 28th of the same Year 
Hon. N. B. Eddv from November 4th, 1850, to July 3d. 1854 
Hon. Julius P. Atwood, from July 6th, 1854. to December 31st, 1856 
J. G. Knapp, from January 5th, 1857, to April 20th of the same vear 
D. C. Bush, from April 23d, 1857, to April 13th, 1858 

Hon. S. R. Roys, elected April, 1857 for term of 1858. but died in fall of 1857 
Hon. Tbos. Hood, to fill 1he above vacancy, from April 16, 1858, to Dec. 31, 1865 
Hon. Geo. E. Bryan-, from Jan. 1, 1866, to December 31, 1877, when his suc- 
cessor, Hon. Alden S. Sanborn, will commence his term, January 1, 1878 

Clerks of County Court. 

The clerks successively employed in said court were: Daniel Noble John- 
son, Cbas. Reese. T. J. Widvey, Benton McConnell. Richard Bandolph, 
Gabriel Bjorason, Miss nattie Bryant (now Mrs. Loomis). sister of Judge 
Geo. E. Bryant; and M. B. French. Of those, Mrs. Loomis served the 
longest time, to wit, six years, and Gabriel Bjornson, the present clerk 
under Judge Bryant, the next longest time, five years, he having served 
from 1864 to the 31st day of December, 1865, under Hon. Thos. Hood, and 
commenced service under Judge Bryant, April 1st, 1874. 

The following list of clerks of the circuit court, has been kindly furnished 
us by the Hon. Wm. A. Wheeler, deputy clerk. 

Clerks of Circuit Court. 
Oct. 7th. 1839.— Simeon Mills, appointed by Judge Irvin. 
Nov. 10th, 1847— Elisha Bnrdick, appointed by Judge lrvin. 
1853— Charles Lnm. I 1801— J. J. Starks. ' I 1809— Geo. W. Stoncr. 
1855— Frank H. Firman | 1803— Carl Habich. | 1871— L. D. Frost. 
18.->7— Mvrou T. Bailev. I 1805— H. A. Lewis. I 1873— L D. Frost. 
1859— L".cius Fairchiid | 1807— H. A. Lewis. | 187 5-7— Bernard Esser. 

County Superintendents of Schools. 



1 1 th Senate District 2d District. 

1862— B. A. Barlow 1863— S. L. Hookerr 

262A District. - ! 18P8-S. H. Carpenter 

1862— E. Kelly (except 1869— Isaac Kierstad 

Madison) I 1870— S. C. Cooledge 



1872—0. J. Taylor 
1874-6— M. S. Frawlcy. 

Ut District 
1868-J. Q. Fmerv 
1870 - Theo. D. Kanouse 



Ut District. 1872-4— W. II. Chandler 1876-A. R Ames 



MEMBERS OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 

Council from 1838 to 1S48. 

1838-42— E. Brigham I 1843-4— Lucius T. Barber 1 1845-6— John Catlin 

18)7-8— A. L. Collins 

Representatives from. 1838 to 1S4S. 



1838-40— D.S. Sutherland 
1840-2— Lucius I. Barber 
Jas. Sutherland 



1845— Chas. S. Bristol 
Noah Phelps 
Geo. H. Slaughter 



1842^— 1. H. Palmer , 184(1— Mark R. Clapp 
L. Crossmnn Wm. M. Dennis 

Robert Masters | Noah Phelps 



1847— Wm A. Wheeler 
Chas. Lum 
John W. Stewart 
1847-8— E. T. Gardner 
Alex. Botkin 
John W. Stew art 



DANE COUNTY OFFICEKS. 661 

Constitutional Conventions. 

The following were members, for Dane county, of the lirst constitutional 
convention, assembled at Madison, October 5th, 1846, and adjourned in De- 
cember, of the same year, after having framed a constitution. This consti- 
tution was rejected by the people at the election in April, 1847: 
John Y. Smith, Abel Dunning, Benjamin Fuller, Geo. B. Smith, Nathaniel 

F. Hyer, John Babcock. 

SECOND CONVENTION. 

On the loth of December, 1847, a second convention met, and framed a con- 
stitution that was adopted by the people in March, 1848. The following gen- 
tlemen were members for Dane: 

Chas. M. Nichols, Wm. A. Wheeler, Wm. H. Fox. 



Senate from 1848 to 1877. 



9th District. 
1848— Simeon Mills. 
1849-50— Alex. Botkin. 
1851-2— E. B. Dean, Jr. 

Uth District. 
1853-4— T. T.Whittlesey. 
J855-8— Hiram H. Giles. 
1859-60— Wm. R. Taylor. 
1861-2— Sam'l C. Bean. 



1863-6— W. H. Chandler. 
1867-8— C. E. Warner. 
1869-70— N. Williams. 
1871— Wm. M. Colladay. 

26<A District. 
1857— Hiram C. Bull. 
1858-'.t-And. Proudtit. 
1860-1— John B. Sweat. 
1862-3-B. F. Hopkins. 



1864-5- Thos. Hood. 
1866-7— Jas. K. Proudfit. 
1868-9— Carl Habich. 
1870-7— R. E. Davis. 

1th District. 
1872— Wm.M. Colladay. 
1873-4— J. A. Johnson. 
1875-6— Geo. E. Brvant. 
1877-8— Geo.B. Burrows 



Members of Assembly, from 1848 to 1877. 

1848. — Henry M. Warner, Ebenezer Brigham, Samuel R. Roys. 

1819. — Charles Rickerson, Ira W. Bird, Samuel R. Roys. 

1850 — John Hasey, Chauncey Abbott, Oliver B. Bryant. 

1851. — Abram A. Boyce, Augustus A. Bird, Gabriel Bjornson. 

1852. — Alex Botkin, Hiram H. Giles. William A. Pierce. 

1853. — M. Roache. H.Barnes, StorerW. Fields, P. C Burdick, H. L.Foster. 

1854.— Samuel H. Baker, H. Barnes, H. S. Orton, P. W Malts. C. R. Head. 

1855. — LB. Vilas, J. Mosher, S. G. Abbott, G. P. Thompson, W. R. Taylor. 

1856.— Augustus A. Bird, Geo. A. P. Thompson, Augustus A.Huntington, 

Wm. M. Colladay, Chas. R. Head 
1857. — John A. Johnson, Robert W. Davison, Robt. P. Maine, John B. 

Sweat, Horace A. Tennev, Natl. W. Dean. 

1858. — Daniel B. Crandall, John W. Sharp, Storer W. Field, Henry K. Beld- 

ing. Frank Gault, Alex. A. McDonell. 

1859. — Wm. M. Blackmail, Adam Smith, John Keenan, Chest. N. Waterbury, 

Harlow S. Orton, Geo. B. Smith. 

1860. — Wm. M. Blackman, Eleazer Grover, Jr., John Beath, Francis Fischer, 

Leonard J. Farwell, Cas.rius Fairchild. 

1861. — Sereno W. Graves, W. H. Chandler, Edward W. Dwight, Fred. A. 

Pfaff, Dominick O'Mallev, David Atwood. 

1862. — B. F. Adams, W.1I. Chandler, A. S Sanborn, N. M. Matts, E. .Tussen. 

1863. — Chas. R. Head.W. II. Miller, A. S. Sanborn, Geo.Wright, Geo. Hver. 
1864. — W.M. Blackmail, W. II. Miller, A.S. Sanborn, G.Wright, GeO.B.Smith. 

1865. — Wm. M. Colladav. A. A. Bovce, DavidFord, John S^Frarv, Jas. Ross. 

1866. — W.D. Potter, .JM. Flint. G.H. Slaughter, W.Charleton. B'.F. Hopkins. 

1867. — Isaac Adams, J. M. Flint, Frank Gualt, Hugh Cathcart, E. Wakelev. 

1868. — N.Williams, Knute Nelson, Frank Gault, G. Tollefson, L. B. Vilas." 
1369. — J. E. Johnson, Knute Nelson, J.Adams, Andw Henry, Geo.B. Smith. 

1870. — C E. Loveland.W.H. Chandler, .T.Adams, J.R. Crocker, A.S. Sanborn 

1871. — L.O. Humphrey, K O. Heimdal, M.Anderson, O.Torgerson, H.S. Orton 

1872. — Benjamin F. Adams, John D. Gurnee, John Adams, Phineas Baldwin. 
1873.— Oliver W. Thornton, Levi B. Vilas, Otto Kerl, Hiram H. Cornwell. 

1874. — John Johnson, Philo Dunning, John B Rehl, Michael Johnson. 

1875. — Isaac Adams, S. U, Pinney, David Ford, Michael Johnson. 

1876. — Wm. Seamonson, Wm. Charleton, Peter Zander, Michael Johnson. 

1877. —Michael Johnson, Phineas Baldwin, Geo. Weeks. 



662 DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 



TILLAGE AND CITY OF MADISON. 

Village of Madison from 1840 to 1850. 

1S40. Thomas W. Sutherland, president; Eliab B. Dean, Jr., Peter W. 
Matte, Barlow Shackleford, Alonzo Wilcox, Win. N. Seymour, and James 
Morrison, trustees: J.T.Clark, clerk; D. Clark, treasurer; A. Vial, marshal. 

1847. A.L. Collins, president; D.B Suedden, Benj. Holt, Wm. Pyncheon, 
Win. Welch, Chester Bushnell, and IS. II. Smith, trustees; J. li. Bngham, 
clerk; N. S. Emmons, assessor. 

1848. A. L. Collins, president; J. C. Fairchild, J. P. Mann, Chauncey 
Abbott, William Pyncheon, Henry C. Parker, Daniel Mallo, IrvMees ; J. R. 
Brigham, clerk; 1. W. Bird, treasurer; A. Main, assessor. 

1849. A. L. Cullino, president; J. T. Clark, K. S. Emmons, J. D. Rug- 
bies, D. n. Wright, trustees; A. Vial, treasurer; T Reynolds, marshal. 

1850. W. N. Seymour, president; B. Holt, S. Mills, D. 11. Wright, A. A. 
Bird, trustees; CM. Oakley, treasurer; W. O. Wells, marshal; li. M. 
Williamson, assessor. [Mr. Stoner appears as a trustee in May U, 1850.] 

1851. Simeon Mills, president; L. J. Farwell, A. A Bird, Win. \\ elch, H. 
A. Tenney, David H. Wright, trustees; E. Burdiek, clerk; Darwin Clark. 
treasurer; Jas. Richardson, assessor; A. Bishop, -marshal. 

185'*!. Chauncey Abbott, president; H. A. Tenney, F. G. Tibbets, E. L. Var- 
ney, P. H. Van Bergen, M. Friend, trustees; Robt. L. Ream, clerk; J. J. 
Starks, treasurer; d. D. Welch, marshal; A. Bishop, assessor. 

1853. II. A. Tenney, president; F. G. Tibbets, B. Cannon, Casper Zwickey, 
A.Wilcox, D. Atvvood. B. F. O'Brien, trustees; W. Welch, clerk; J.J. 
Starks, treasurer; L. W. Hoyt, assessor; A. Manning, marshal. 

185-1. Simeon Mills, president; P. II. Van Bergen, Geo. C. Albee, G. M. 
Oakley (C. Weed to fill vacancy of Oakley), M. Friend, Jas. Eivesey, A. 
Bishop, trustees; D. N. Johnson, clerk; M. Cleary, treasurer; D. C. Bush 
assesso/'; I. E. Brown, marshal. 

1855. P. H. Van Bergen, president; L. J. Farwell, L. W Hoyt, Wm. Car- 
roll, John G. Griffin, H. A. Tenney, J. Sumner, trustees; D. N. Johnson 
(Wm. N. Seymour, unexpired term), clerk; Alonzo Wilcox, treasurer; D. 
O. Bush, assessor; I. E. Brown, marshal. 

City of Madison, 1850 to date. 
1850. Jairus C. Fairchild. mayor; Wm. N. Seymour, clerk; Johnson J. 
Starks, treasurer; Arthur B. Braley, police justice; street superintendent 
(senior alderman); Fred Mohr, marshal; Daniel R. Coit. ciiy attorney; P. 
W. M'cCabe, city surveyor. Aldermen — 1st W., A. E, Brooks, T. Heeran, 
A Kraez : ul w., N. B. Van Slyke, J. N. Jones, D. J. Powers; 3d w., C.G. 
Mayers, P H.Van Bergen, (resigned, W. F. Baker elected), A. S.Wood; 4th 
W., S. M.Van Bergen, Joseph Bobbins, Timothy Kinney. 

1857-8. A A. Bird, mayor; W. N. Seymour, c^/-A-,(disabled by a stroke of 
paralysis, S.H. Carpenter elected 1857, resigned 1*5S); F Sauthoff, treasur- 
er; Arthur B. Braley, police justice; street superintendent (senior alder- 
man); Andrew Bishop, chief of police; Abbott, Clark & Coit, city attor- 
neys; William M. Hough," city surveyor. Aldermen — 1st w., Abiel E. 
Brooks. Thomas Heeran. Casper Zwickev; 2d w.. Napoleon B. Van Slvke, 
D. J. Powers, J T. Clark, (resigned); 3d w., C. G. Mayers, J. O. Griffin, D. 
R. Hyer; 4th w., S. M. Van Bergen, T. Kinney, Jos. Hobbins. 

1858-9. Geo. B. Smith, mayor; Henry Wright, clerk; James K. Proudfit, 
treasurer ; Arthur B. Braley, police justice; Simeon Mills, street superin- 
tendent; S. U. Pinney, city atto'y; VV, M. Hough, city survyor, (deceased, 
L P. Drake elected); H. K. Edgertoii, city assessor. Aldermen — 1st w. 
Thomas Heeran, A. Sherwin, Simeon Seckles; 2d w., David J. Powers- 
Eri S. Oakley, James Jack; 3d w., John G. Gi;iffin, Darwin Clark, Chris 
tian Henrichs; 4th w., T. Kinney, C. Fairchild, P. L. Dovvling. 

1859-00. Geo. B. Smith, mayor; Chas. Geo. Mayers, clerk; Andrew Sex- 
ton, treasurer; Aithur B. Braley, police justice; John Shealey, chief of 
police; Simeon Mills, street superintendent, (resigned, W. Knight elected): 
John R. Baltzell, city attorney; J. A. Li«ov/i!<ki, c/ty surveyor) H Wright, 
city assessor. Aldermen — 1st w., A. Snerwin, John Zehnpfenning. Wil- 
liam Dudley: 2d w., Eri S. Oakley, Joseph Bayer, William Hawley; 3d w., 
Darwin Chirk, Fred. C. Festner," Ezra C. Squires; 4th w., Cassius Fair- 
child, John A. Byrne, Joseph Hobbins. 



DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 663 

1860-1. G. B. Smith, mayor; C.G. Mayers, clerk; J C. Schetie, treasurer; 
A. B. Braley, police justice; J. A. Slavin, street superintendent (resigned, 
F. S. Van Bergen, elected to till office of chief of police and street superin- 
tendent;) C. Ainsworth, city attorney; PAV. McCaoe, city surveyor; David 
11. Wright, city assessor. Aldermen —1st w., J. Zehnpfenning, P. O'Bryau, 
P. 11. Turner 2dw., J. Bayer, J. W. Sumner, D.K. Tenney; • dw.. P.C.Pest- 
ner, D. Clark, K. Tierney; 4th w., J. A. Byrne, T. Kinney, J. Y. Smith. 

1801-2. L, B. Vilas, mayor; C. G. Mayers, clerk, (resigned, Wm A. Hayes 
elected): F. C. Festner, treasurer; A. B. Braley, police justice; P. S. Van 
Bergen, sireei superintendi nt and chief of police; Levi P. Brake, city sur- 
veyor; George H. Barwise, city assessor. Aldermen— 1st w., Parrel 
O'Bryan, G. E. Bryant, (resigned). Peter H. Turner; 2dw., J W. Sumner, 
Daniel K. Tenney, J. Adler Ellis; 3d w., Darwin Clark, ^yron Tierney, 
John George Ott; 4th vv., Timothy Kinney, Geo. B. Seekles. J. Y. Smith! 

1863-3. 




Kavanaugh, (resigned, E. B. Dean, Jr., appointed), G. Grimm ; 2d w., U. K. 
Tenney, (resigned, J. H. Carpenter elected), T. E. Bird, A.C. Davis; 3d w., 
K. Tierney, C. W. Ileyl, W. M. Kasdall, Jas. Ross; 4th w., G. B. Seekles, 
(resigned, John Dunn elected), Fd. G. Kavanaugh, Chas. H. Luce, 

1863-1. W. T. Leitch, mayor; W.A. Hayes, clerk; C. W. Hey], treasurer; 
P. W. McCabe, city surveyor; C. Ainsworth, police justice; Chas. T. 
Wakeley, city attorney; A. Bishop, street superintendent and chief of po- 
lice; P. H Turner, city assessor, (resigned, F Mohr appointed). Aldermen 
— 1st w., E. B. Dean, Jr., J Monaghan, J. Zehnpfenning; 2d w., T.E. Bin', 
J H Carpenter, H M. Lewis; 3d w., C. W. Heyl, (resigned, K Tierney 
elected), J. Boss, J. T. Stevens (resigned, H. Winkler elected); 4thw,E. 
C. Kavanaugh, H. N Moulton, (resigned, T. Kinney elected), J. Hobbins, 
(resigned, J M Dickinson elected) 

1861-5. Win. T. Leitch, mayor; Wm. A Hayes, city clerk, (resigned, S.H. 
Carp /liter elected); C. W. Heyl, treasurer; J. M. Flower, police justice; 
J. B. Hyland, street superintendent and chief of police ; J. R. Baltzell, city 
attorney; P. McCane, city surveyor; J. Reynolds, city assessor. Aldermen 
—1st w., J. Monaghan, A. Wald, E. Sprague, (resigned, A. B. Braley elec- 
ted i ; 2d w., J.H. Carpenter, H.M. Lewis, T. Brown ; 3d w., J. Ross, K. Tier- 
ney, B. Doerschlag: 4th w., T.Kinney, J. M. Dickinson, G. D. Lincoln. 

1865-6. Elisha W. Keyes, mayor; S. 11. Carpenter, clerk; John Reynolds, 
treasurer; James M. Flower, jiolice /us/ire; H. W. Tenney, city attorney; 
Ira W. Bird, st reef superintendent and chief of police ; P. W. McCabe, city 
surveyor, (resigned, L. P. Drake elected) ; Wm. T. Leitch, city assessor. 




t866-7 Elisha W. Keycs, mayor ;S. H. Carpenter, clerk; S. V. Shipman, 
treasurer; John R. Baltzell, police justice; C. G. Mayers, city assessor; I. 
W. Bird, street superintendent; Benj. F. Larkin, chief of police; C. T. 
Wakeley, city attorney; Levi P. Drake, city surveyor. Aldermen — 1st w., 
Arthur B. Braley, James Conkliu, Hannibal Lacher; 2d w., L. S. Ingman, 
Henry M. Lewis, John Corscot; 3d w., Ebenezer Sprague, Kyron Tierney, 
B. M. Nienaber; 4th w., T. W. Gibbs, G. W. McDougal, (did not qualify, 
W. Abeel. elected), L. D. Stone, (resigned, J. C. McKinnev elected). 

1807-8. Aldcn S. Sanborn, mayor; S. H. Carpenter, clerk; G. Memhard. 
treasurer; John R. Baltzell, police justice; A. Bishop, street superinten- 
dent ; W. Hickey, chief of police, (resigned, J. Shealey appointed); C. T. 
Wa.;eley, city attorney; P. W. McCabe, city survnjor ; T. C. Bonrke, city 
assessor. Aldermen — 1st w., J Conklin, Robt Nichols, S. Engel; 2d w. 
Henry M. Lewis, Myron T. Bailey, A. Riley Jones; 3d w., Kyron Tierney, 
H. Christoffers, P.B. Kissam; 4th w., L.D. Stone, H.N. Moulton, S. Foren. 

1868-9. D.Atwood, mayor; S.H. Carpenter,c/e/-fc, (resig'd, J. Corscot eiect- 
ed); J. Conkhn, treasurer; J. R. Baltzell, police justice; A. Bishop, street 
superintendent ; J. W. Tolford, chief of 'police. ; A. B. Braley, city attorney ; 
P. W. McCabe, city surveyor ; T. C. Bourke, city assessor. Aldermen— -1st 
w., R. Nichols, S. Engel, (resigned, F. Daubner elected), A. McGovern; 2d. 
w., M. T. Bailey, R. Wootton, H. Steensland; 3d. w., H. Christofiers, P. B. 
Kissam, Ole Thompson; 4th. w., H. N. Moulton, L. D. Stone, A. S. Frank. 



Q64: 



DANE COUNTY OFFICERS. 



1869-70. Andw. Prondfit, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; W. Habich, Jr., 
treasurer ; J . R. Baltzell, police, justice; Andrew Bishop, street superin- 
tendent: T. C Botsford, chief of police ; A. S. Sanhorn, city attorney: P. 
W. McCabe, «7y surveyor; N. L. Andrews, assessor; A. Kctnig, pound 
master. Aldermen: 1st. w., G. Anderson. D. K. Tenner," F. Daubner; 
2d w., A. R. Jones, (resigned, W. Deards elected), M. T. Bailey, K \V out- 
ton; 3d w., H.Winckler, J. M. Bowman, P. B. Kissam; 4th w., S. Forau. P. 
Young, L. B. Stone. 

1870-1. Andw. Prondfit, mayor; John Corscot, clerk: Andrew Pickarts, 
treasurer ; John 11. Baltzell, police justice ; Andrew Bishop, street superin- 
tendent; 3. Shealey, chief of police ; A. S. Sanborn, city attorney ; P. VV. 
McCabe, city surveyor ; N. L. Andrews, assessor. Aldermen — 1st w., F. 
Daubner, F. O'Brien, G. Anderson: 2d w., Walter Beards, A. Daubner, M. 
T. Bailey; 3d w., J. M. Bowman, W. H. Karnes, H. Winckler; 4th w., J. 
Ross, H. N. Moulton, S. Foren. 

1871-2. Jas. B. Bowen, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; John Lewis, treas- 
urer; J. K. Baltzell, police justice; And. Bishop, street superintendent ; 
Chas. C. Hammer,* chief ot police; Jos. C. Ford, city attorney: P. W. Mc- 
Cabe, city surveyor; N. L. Andrews, assessor; W. J. Manning, pound 
master. Aldermen — 1st w., James Conklin, Henry Vilas, Fred Daubner; 
2d w., A. Daubner, C. P. Chapman, Walter Deards; 3d w., J. G. Ott, W. H. 
Karnes; J. M. Bowman; 4th w., Thos. Dean, Fstes Wilson, James Ross. 

1872-3. Jas--. H. Hill, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; Chas. G. Mayers, treas- 
urer; A. B. Braley, police justice; Levi P. Drake, street superintendent and 
surveyor, ( resigned, A. Bishop appointed); J. C. Ford, city attorney ; W. 
T. Leitch, assessor; W J. Manning, pound master. Aldermen— 1st w., E. 
Cook, G. Bunker, J. Conklin ; 2d w., It. Wootton, C.P Chapman, A. Daub- 
ner; 3d w., F. M. Dorn, J. Lewis, J. G. Ott; 4th w., A. Webster, E. Wilson, 
Thos. Dean. 

1873-4. J. C. Gregory, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; W. Farrell, treasurer; 
A. B. Braley, police justice; Andrew Bishop, street superintendent ; Chas. 
K. Tenney, city attorney; Wm. T. Leitch, assessor; Isaac Smith, pound 
master. Aldermen — 1st w., George Bunker, John Ileeran, E.Cook; 2d 
w., C. P. Chapman, A. Daubner, R. Wootton; 3d w., H. Kleuter, Darwin 
Clark, F. M. Dorn; 4th w., Andrew Sexton, Thos. Dean, Estes Wilson. 

1871-3. Silas U. Pinney, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; Gottlieb Grimm, 
treasurer; A. B. Braley, municipal judge; Jas. Quirk, city surveyor ; A. 
Bishop, street superintendent and chief of police; C. K. Tenney, city attor- 
ney; W. T. Leitch. assessor; B. Squires, pound master. Aldermen — 1st 
w., Geo. Bunker, (ieo. Memhard, Thos. Hayden; 2d w., C. P. Chapman, 
W. K. Barney, T. B. Worthington; 3d w., Darwin Clark, Frank M. Dorn, 
H. Kleuter; 4th w., A. Sexton, P. L. Spooner, Jr., M. P. Walsh. 

1875-H. S. U. Pinney, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; Thos. P. Coyne, treas- 
urer; A. B. Braley, municipal judge; James Quirk, city surveyor: A. 
Bishop, street superintendent and chief of police; Chas. K. Tenney, city at- 
torney ; W. T. Leitch, assessor; Ezra' Squires, pound master. Aldermen— 
1st w., Henry Oakey, Thos. Hayden, Geo. Memhard; 2d w., A. S. Sanborn, 
A. Frederickson, T. B. Worthington; 3d w., C. F. Bicderstaedt, Darwin 
Clark, Wm. Welch; 4th w., P. L. Spooner, Jr , M. P. Walsh, Peter Young. 

1870-7. John N. Jones, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; R. J. McConnell, 
treasurer; A. B. Braley. municipal judge ; John Nader, surveyor and street 

superintendent ; Frank M. Dorn,. chief of police; , city attorney; Theo. 

Herfurth, assessor; J McEvily, pound master. Aldermen — 1st w., W. T. 
Fish, Geo. Memhard, Alex. Gill; 2d w., A. S. Sanborn, S. A. Hale, J. E. 
Rhodes; 3d w., C. F. Bierstaedt, Ernst Mueller, Wm. Welch; 4th w., M. P. 
Walsh, Dan. Campbell, W. J. L. Nicodemns; 5th w., Jas. Conklin. Jacob 
Silbernagel, H. Oakey. . 

1877-8. H. S. Orton, mayor; John Corscot, clerk; M. J. Cantwell, treas- 
urer; A. B. Braley, municipal judge ; John Nader, surveyor; Andrew Bish- 
op, street superintendent and chief of police ; Charles K. Tenney, city attor- 
ney ; 0. G. Mayers, assessor; J. McEvily, pound master. Aldermen — 1st 
w., W. A. Booth, W. T. Fish, Jos. Sehweinem; 2d w., John Lamont, Wm. 
Habich, Jas E. Rhodes; 3d w., W. H. Lansing, Ernst Mueller, Aug. Ram- 
thnn; 4th w., John Hayes, W. J. L. Nicodemns, A. M. Daggett; 5th w., Ja- 
cob Silbernagel, James Conklin, N. H. Dodge. 



HIRAM G. DODGE 



DEALER IN 

ANTHKACITE COAL. 



BITUMINOUS COAL. 

CANCEL COAL. 

~~B LOSS BURG COAL. 
CHAKCOAL. 



MAPLE WOOD, 

OAK WOO D. 



FINE SALT. 

COARSE SALT. 

DAIRY SALT, 
NEW YORK STUCCO. 
MICHIGAN STUCCO. 
ROSENDALE CEMENT. AKRON CEMENT. 

THE CELEBRATED PEWAUKEE WHITE LIME. 



FIRE BRICK. FIRE CLAY. 

WHITE AND RED BRICK. 

Land Plaster and Plastering Hair. 

EAST MADISON. 



GRAIN, STORAGE AND COMMISSION. 

WEST MADISON. 



ELEVATOR AND GRAIN OFFICE, 

On Washington Avenue, near Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint 

Paul Depot. 

COAL YARD OFFICE, 

Corner of Main and Blount Streets, near the Gas Works. 



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SLATER & BALL, 

FOUNDERS AND MACHIK 

MADISON, WISCONSIN, 





MANUFACTURE 

Well Drilling 

MACHINERY 

AND 

Agricultural Goods. 



The Slater Cultivator. 



COMBINED FURNACE AND KETTLE. 



MADISON MUSEUM. 




A RARE COLLECTION OF LIVING AND STUFFED SPECI- 
MENS OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



NEW ADDITIONS FREQUENTLY MADE. 



Entrance through the bird store, opposite north corner of the 
Park, on Mifflin and Pinckney streets. Customers Free. 



D. CLARK. 



MANUFACTURER AND DEALER IN 



FURNITURE 



215 MAIN STREET, MADISON, WIS. 




THE OLDEST, MOST RELIABLE 

Having sold more Goods than any other establishment of the 
kind in the City, and now offers the 

LARGEST AND MOST COMPLETE ASSORTMENT 

Comprising everything possible for a family to want, in his 
line of goods, to be found in Madison. 



CHAMBER SUITS, PARLOR SUITS, 

Dining Room, Office and Library Furniture. 

WOVEN WIRE MATTRESSES, BED SPRINGS, 

KITCHEN FURNITURE, ETC., 
At Prices Lower than any other House in the City. 

UPHOLSTERING AND REPAIRING FURNITURE, 

Done iu Good and Substantial manner. 
LIVE GEESE FEATHERS ALWAYS ON HAND. 



ARTISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY 



The Very Best J\£cide. 

Comparison as to Work Challenged. 



1ST. IP. JTOlsriES, 

MILLS' BLOCK, MAIN ST., - MADISON. WIS. 



J. A. JOHNSON, HALLE STEENSLAND, 

President. Secretary 



IE! IE IKI L -A. 

FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY 

OF MADISON, WISCONSIN. 



CASH PAID UP CAPITAL, - 8160,000.00 
ASSETS OCTOBER J, 1877, - - 220,000.00 



This Company has a re-insurance fund of $50 000 00 
deposited with the State Treasurer, for the protection of the 
insured. 

B^~The funds of this Company are not sent out of the State » 
but arc kept at home and loaned to the patrons of the Company 
on Real Estate Security, at legal rate of interest. 



THE PERFECTION OF MOWING MACHINES. 




SE? Meadow King 

IMOWER 



Improved for 1878. 



The Meadow King has no side Draft, no weight on the horses 7 necks, 
no cogs in the drive Wheels. IT IS A FRONT CUT, and therefore there 
is no danger of accident by falling in front of the finger-bar. In short, 
while the Meadow King does not belong to what are called cheap mow- 
ers, still, it is cheaper in the long run, even though it cost a trifle more 
than some other mowers at first, because it will do more work, last longer, 
run lighter, and cost less for repairs. Thus proving that 

"THE BEST IS THE CHE APEST." 



The Old Reliable 




60,000 Now in 

Use. 





THE 



,, LEADER 

m no. i. 



fowMitJiA 



AS A REAPER. 



A Wrought Iron Frame, both Tiltine and Lifting Levers. 

It has a" Wrought Iron Frame, and is Guaranteed to do Better \\ ork 
with less power than any other Reaper. 

The Leader cuts six feet wide, has a Steel Finger Guard, with Steel 
Tlated Malleable Guards, with one Knife and one Sickle. 



S. L. SHELDON, 



Madison, Wis. 



WISCONSIN 

STATE JOURNAL, 

ESTABLISHED IN 1849, 

DAILY. TRI-WEEKLY AND WEEKLY. 



OFFICIAL STATE PAPER. 



KEPEESENTATIYE OF THE KEPUBLICAN 
PARTY AT THE CAPITAL. 



Daily, per annum, in advance, - - $10 00 

Tri-Weekly, per annum, in advance, - - 5 00 

Weekly, per annum, in advance, - - 1 50 

Any person who will send live subscribers to either the Dailj*, 
Tii-Weekly or Weekly, with the cash, at regular subscription 
rates, will receive a sixth copy gratis. 

We propose to make the State Journal the best Family and 
Political Paper in ihe State. We have the rarest facilities for 
giving interesting matter pertaining to State affairs, and every 
opportunity will be improved to make the paper valuable to its 
subscribers. 

SUBSCRIBE FOR THE STATE JOURNAL. 



Connected with the Journal office, we have the most complete 

JOB OFFICE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY 

in the Northwest, and are always prepared to turn out the very 
best Book and Job Printing that can be done in this country. 

David Atwood, 

Madison, Wis. 







EXLIVT 

PLOWS 



LOOK AT 



IHE CAPITAL CITY CUPPERS, 



MANUFACTURED BY 



FIEMIN, BILLINGS & KOE 



AT 



mubiscs plow works. 



We Challenge Comparison of our 
Improved Clippers, 

Light or Heavy Styles, Wood or Steel Beams, 
Single or Double Shins, High, Low or Me- 
dium Landsides, with any and all other 
Plows brought to this market, both as to 
Quality and Price. We call particular at- 
tention to our Splendid 

STEEL BEAM PLOWS, 

Which cannot be beaten. Also to our 

LIGHT PRAIRIE PLOWS, 

Which are Good and Cheap. And to our 
"OLD RELIABLE" 

FULL CLIPPER PLOWS, 

With Extra High and Thick Steel Landsides. 

Which excel all other makes or kinds for Strength, Dura- 
ility and Variety of .Work. Our Breaking Plows, Sod Plows, 
Corn and Hop Plows, cannot be surpassed for Wisconsin soils. 

Call at the Factory and Examine our Plows for Yourselves, 
before Buying. We are selling first-class Plows at Bargains to 
Dane County^Farmers, and Repair all kinds of Plows in the most 
skillful and workmanlike manner, at FAIR RATES. 



H15f T^ 



TJ JS 



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$&& N - MANCHESTER. 
INDIANA 







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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




